Peng calls for joint efforts to fight AIDS

Peng Liyuan, wife of President Xi Jinping, called for more cooperation between China and Panama on AIDS prevention and women's and children's issues in a meeting on Monday with Lorena Castillo de Varela, wife of Panama's President Juan Carlos Varela.

Peng, who was in Panama City, Panama, accompanying Xi for a state visit to the Central American country, said the Chinese government attaches great importance to the prevention and control of AIDS and has devoted tremendous effort and achieved significant results.

China holds Panama's efforts in high regard, Peng said. She is the World Health Organization's goodwill ambassador for combating tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.

China has also prioritized work related to women and children, and has made efforts to improve their level of health and education, she said.

As UNESCO special envoy for the advancement of girls' and women's education, Peng said she hoped the two nations can work together to contribute even more to the global cause of women and children.

Castillo de Varela, who is special advocate for AIDS in Latin America for the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, said she appreciates and admires the achievements of the Chinese government in AIDS prevention and control, as well as in protection of women's and children's interests. Panama is ready to work with China for more progress in those areas, she said.

After the meeting, Peng and Castillo de Varela showed their support for the global fight against AIDS as they posed for photos holding colorful paper butterflies, symbols of the zero discrimination campaign launched by UNAIDS.

Peng also commended Castillo de Varela's participation in AIDS prevention, saying that China and Panama share common aspirations in eliminating HIV/AIDS.

She said she hopes that the two countries will step up bilateral cooperation and make steady efforts to help realize the UNAIDS-proposed goal of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030.(Source:By XU WEI,China Daily,December 4,2018)