Former U.S. President Bill Clinton signed an agreement with China on Wednesday to provide a year's supply of AIDS drugs to 200 children to help China battle the disease.

The program is part of a three-year, US$10 million deal reached last year between the Clinton Foundation and China's Ministry of Health.

The Chinese Government says an estimated 840,000 people nationwide have been infected with the AIDS virus. The U.N. AIDS agency says the number of infections could increase to 10 million within five years if urgent action is not taken.

"We have a real chance to keep this epidemic from spiraling out of control," Clinton said during a signing ceremony at the ministry.

Clinton said he was impressed by China's response to the spread of AIDS.

"China has made impressive progress in building a comprehensive system of care for all Chinese patients in need," Clinton said at a reception in Beijing.

"I hope China's actions will encourage other countries (affected by AIDS) to do as much," he said.

"I am confident that China will fulfill Premier Wen's promise to fight HIV/AIDS with the international community, to protect this nation and all humankind and I want to do our part," Clinton said.

China has promised to provide free testing and counseling and free anti-retroviral treatment for the poor.

This month, Wen spent the Chinese Lunar New Year eve with AIDS patients in rural Henan Province, where many people were infected in blood-selling schemes in the mid-1990s.

The move not only symbolized government efforts to reduce the stigma of the disease but also highlighted its concern about controlling the spread of the virus.

Editor: Catherine