Bird flu outbreaks were reported in many parts of China in 2005. From the time the first human case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was confirmed on November 16, 2005, seven people were infected by the killing virus and five were killed by the end of the year. Guided by the principle of "timeliness, openness and transparency," China reported the avian and human influenza cases to relevant international organizations and to other countries and regions.

As one of the first countries to see bird flu outbreaks, China attaches high importance to epidemic prevention and control and adopts a series of effective measures for this purpose. On November 16, 2005, the State Council passed the Animal Epidemic Emergency Regulations. In addition, the government drafted six follow-up documents, including the Technical Specifications on Handling HPAI Emergencies, to implement standardized operations in bird flu prevention and control. China also set up state-level surveillance offices in 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities around the country, and 450 epidemic monitoring and reporting stations. In 2005, 2.92 million samples were tested for the H5N1 bird flu virus. Ninety percent of the villages in China had epidemic observers and reporters, numbering 645,000, to guarantee the early discovery, early reporting and early control of an epidemic. With support from the China Center for Disease Control, the country has set up investigation and rapid response medical groups for bird flu human infections and has also intensified scientific studies to speed up the diagnoses of bird flu and of vaccine development.

China supports and promotes global and regional cooperation in bird flu prevention and control. In December 2005, the Ministerial Conference for Asian Cooperation on HPAI Control was convened in Kunming, Yunnan Province, where representatives from 16 countries and six international organizations endorsed the Kunming Initiative for Asian Cooperation on HPAI Control and put forward many valuable suggestions. The country also invited experts from international organizations to inspect bird flu prevention and control in some affected areas and to come up with an appropriate vaccine. It also provided the World Health Organization labs with H5N1 samples and publicized the virus's gene sequence collected after 2004.

In order to further global cooperation in bird flu prevention and control, the Chinese Government, the European Commission and the World Bank jointly held the International Pledging Conference on Avian and Human Pandemic Influenza in January 2006, attended by some 700 representatives from more than 100 countries including the United States and Japan and more than 20 international organizations. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao put forward a four-point proposal at the ministerial meeting of the conference--to cooperate globally in prevention and control, to strengthen capabilities in prevention and control, to enhance the role of the United Nations and other relevant international organizations and to bolster funding. Premier Wen also announced China's pledge of $10 million for the global fight against bird flu and its continued support to other needy countries.