Former US president Bill Clinton arrived in Beijing Wednesday night after his tour of Asia's tsunami-hit regions and signed a cooperation agreement on AIDS treatment with China's Health Ministry.

The former president, who has been very involved with HIV/AIDS prevention and control since his presidency, promised to donate AIDS medicine for Chinese children living with the deadly disease.

"What impressed me most is how quickly and how much you've done in preventing HIV/AIDS," Clinton told China's executive vice health minister Gao Qiang after the signing ceremony.

The Chinese government estimates that the country has 840,000 HIV carriers, among whom nearly 80,000 have full blown AIDS.

In April 2004, the Clinton Foundation signed a memorandum of understanding with China's Health Ministry, promising to provide technical assistance in AIDS care and treatment to China.

Clinton said he was encouraged by the smooth cooperation between the Clinton Foundation and China on preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS epidemic. He said his foundation will continue to provide necessary support to China.

Gao said the Chinese government remains firm in fighting the disease and will continue to strengthen its policies and measures for HIV/AIDS prevention and control, including free treatment for AIDS patients with financial difficulties.

Gao told Clinton that the current difficulties in China's fight against the disease lay in the country's weak HIV/AIDS monitoring network, lack of new medication and shortage of experienced doctors.

"We hope we can improve technical and information exchange with the Clinton Foundation and other international organizations to solve these problems," he said.