BEIJING, Nov. 20 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese and US presidents reached consensus here Sunday on enhancing bilateral cooperation in the prevention and control against bird flu and issued a common document.

    According to the document, China and the United States are dedicated to the prevention of the spread of the newly-reported epidemic including the highly pathogenic bird flu.

    The two sides will seek to expand efforts in fighting against the potential human flu pandemic and agreed to conduct common action on bilateral, regional and global cooperation on this issue,the document said.

    China and the United States promised to beef up cooperation between the ministries of public health and agriculture in the areas of research, development and testing of flu vaccines and medicines and quick actions towards the flu pandemic in a bid to improve the ability of discovery and control of the outbreak of bird flu.

    The document said the two sides will make active support to and participation in the global cooperation of bird flu. The two sides will back up the due role of the organizations within the United Nations, especially the World Health Organization, the UN Food and Agricultural Organization and other international organizations.

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

    The two countries will keep close coordination and cooperation so as to ensure the success of the two global proposals.

    The document said China and the United States are ready to contribute common efforts to and actively participate in the bird flu control in the Asia-Pacific region. The two sides promised to jointly implement a proposal of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) on bird flu control and hold a successful APEC Symposium on Emerging Infectious Disease in Beijing next April. Enditem