BEIJING, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping has met with United Nations anti-AIDS chief Michel Sidibe and pledged to step up efforts to fight AIDS, said a statement from the Health Ministry Thursday.

During their meeting at the Great Hall of the People on Wednesday, Xi said the government attached great importance to the prevention of HIV/AIDS, which has become the country's leading infectious disease killer.

China had established an anti-AIDS working mechanism that involved the government, different departments and the whole of society, Xi told Sidibe, executive director of the Joint UN Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

With increased funding for anti-AIDS programs, China had implemented prevention, treatment and care policies to secure the rights and interests of those infected, Xi said.

"China will combine the prevention and containment of HIV/AIDS with reform of the medical and healthcare system to improve the people's health by strengthening the public healthcare service," he said.

Xi also vowed to support appeals from the United Nations and the international community, bolster south-south cooperation with Africa and push for the realization of Millennium Development Goals worldwide.