BEIJING, Feb 23 (AFP) - Former US president Bill Clinton was in Beijing Wednesday to promote AIDS awareness on a low-key visit which will also focus on aid to tsunami-hit countries around the Indian Ocean.
He is here with the Clinton Foundation and is expected to meet with officials from China's health ministry, said Roy Wadia, the Beijing-based spokesman for the World Health Organization (WHO).
"The Clinton Foundation is keen to strengthen its cooperation to the HIV-AIDS program in China and is working with the WHO, UN AIDS and other health partners along with the Chinese government," Wadia told AFP.
"They hope to strengthen their presence here in China over the next year."
China estimates it has 840,000 HIV/AIDS sufferers although international AIDS experts say the actual number is much higher and urgent action is needed to prevent it exploding.
Clinton would also discuss China's aid efforts to the tsunami-hit countries following his four-nation tour of the region which ended earlier this week, Wadia said.
During a stopover in Hong Kong Tuesday, the former president said he would recommend that Washington's aid efforts to the nations hit by the December 26 tragedy should continue for three to five years.
"I was impressed by the achievements made and the scale of the job yet to be done," Clinton told reporters. "I will recommend that American aid efforts continue in the region for at least three to five years."
Clinton and fellow former president George Bush senior were appointed by President George W. Bush to head US private fundraising efforts in the wake of the tsunamis that killed some 289,000 people in 11 countries in Asia and Africa.
Beijing-based diplomats said China was keen to keep Clinton's visit quiet, irked by his scheduled visit to Taiwan, possibly this month, where he is expected to meet independence-leaning President Chen Shui-bian.
China's foreign mininstry and health ministry refused to comment on the visit, as did the Clinton Foundation in Beijing.
China views Chen as a dangerous "splittist" who is leading Taiwan down the road toward formal independence, a move that Beijing said would be regarded as an act of war.
050223
AF050273
Copyright ©AFP 2005. All Rights Reserved. AFP articles contained on the AEGiS web site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without AFP's prior written permission. You may make one copy of each article for your personal, non-commercial use only; more copies would require AFP's prior written permission. obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP photos or materials. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP stories, photos or graphics. http://www.afp.com/
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Bridgestone Firestone Trust Fund, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2005. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
©1990, 2005 - AEGiS. AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.
