Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft Corporation, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) annual conference 2007 in Boao, Qionghai of south China's Hainan Province on April 21, 2007. (Xinhua Photo/Liu Weibing)

    BOAO, Hainan Province, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates announced here Saturday his company will build research and development parks in Beijing and Shanghai in a bid to expand its business in China.

    Gates said the parks will be built to meet the growing research and development demand in China and help ameliorate Microsoft's relationship with its clients and partners.

    The chairman did not offer details of the new move.

    Gates attributed Microsoft's success to innovation and teamwork, saying that the move will hopefully help the company establish a sound relation with its trade partners and the Chinese government to tap human resources and promote regional prosperity.

    Microsoft established its first China-based office in Beijing back to 1992, since then the company has dedicated to long-term research and development in the country.

    The company established the China R&D Group in January last year, a milestone of its development in the world's most populous country.

    China is embracing unprecedented opportunities, said the group chairman Zhang Yaqin, the Microsoft products made in China will increasingly embody Chinese talents' originality, he added.

    Gates arrived in Beijing Thursday for his 10th visit to China, during which he met with Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi and visited the prestigious Beijing University and Qinghua University in Beijing.

    The Boao Forum for Asia, established in 2001, is a non-governmental organization serving as a platform voicing for Asia's future. The 2007 conference, with the theme "Asia Winning in Today's Global Economy -- Innovation and Sustainable Development", will run from Saturday to Sunday in Boao.