The Chinese Government, the European Commission and the World Bank will jointly hold the International Pledging Conference on Avian and Human Pandemic Influenza in Beijing from January 17th to 18th , 2006. The conference aims at evaluating the capital and technical need of relevant countries and regions for bird flu prevention and control, mobilizing fund raising efforts of all parties, and establishing fund management and coordination mechanism. On behalf of the host of the meeting, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing has sent out invitations to relevant countries and international organizations.

The first day of the conference will be a meeting for senior officials, focusing on evaluating the situation of avian influenza, and discussing the capital and technical needs for avian flu prevention and control. The second day will be a ministerial meeting, where relevant countries and organizations will announce their donations. The meeting will issue the Beijing Declaration, demonstrating the political determination of all parties in combating the pandemic influenza and proposing on fund management and coordination mechanism. China is willing to take the opportunity of the conference to press ahead with the rest of the world in international cooperation on avian pandemic influenza.