HHS Renews Memorandum of Understanding with the People’s Republic of China on HIV/AIDS

December 11, 2007 – U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Michael O. Leavitt (left) and the Honorable Chen Zhu, M.D., Minister of Health of the People's Republic of China, sign a Memorandum of Understanding between HHS and the Chinese Ministry of Health on cooperation in fighting HIV/AIDS. (Photo by Wang Li Xia, U.S. Embassy, Beijing)

December 14, 2007 – On December 11, 2007, on the margins of the third Cabinet-level session under the United States-China Strategic Economic Dialogue, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Michael O. Leavitt and Chinese Minister of Health Chen Zhu, M.D., renewed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two countries to cooperate in the field of HIV/AIDS, as part of President Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

Recognizing the impact of HIV in China, HHS and the Ministry of Health will continue to work together to strengthen Chinese disease-surveillance and laboratory capacity, as well as support confidential, voluntary counseling and testing (VCT); behavior change; and care and treatment activities for Chinese communities.

The MOU comes under the umbrella of the United States-China Health Protocol, signed in 1979 upon the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

For more information:

• Memorandum of Understanding on U.S.-China Cooperation on HIV/AIDS
• Fact Sheet on the Contents of the U.S.-China MOU on HIV/AIDS
• President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in the People’s Republic of China: Stories of Hope (PEPFAR.gov)

Last revised: December 21, 2007