President Hu Jintao and his US counterpart George W. Bush agreed in Beijing yesterday to enhance cooperation on the prevention and control of avian flu.

In a joint statement, the two countries said they will pursue expanded efforts in the fight against a possible human flu pandemic and agreed to common action on bilateral, regional and global cooperation.

China and the United States promised to increase cooperation between their public health and agricultural agencies on the research, development and testing of flu vaccines and treatment medicines.

Both nations also agreed to take part in global efforts to combat bird flu. China and the United States said they will support organizations within the United Nations, especially the World Health Organization, the UN Food and Agricultural Organization and other international groups involved in battling the disease.

China will continue to support a US-initiated international partner plan on bird flu control, and the United States has agreed to back a China-sponsored conference on fund-raising for international and regional bird flu control next January.

The two countries will maintain close coordination to ensure the success of the two global proposals, the joint statement said.

The document also said China and the United States are ready to contribute common efforts to fight the disease in the Asia-Pacific region.