Wen made the remark during the ministerial meeting at a two-day donors' conference on avian influenza in Beijing. He said the Chinese government was giving $10 million, "effective immediately."

The event involved almost 700 delegates from more than 100 countries and 20 international organizations gathering with the goal of raising $1.2 billion dollars to fight against the H5N1 virus before it mutates into a human-to-human strain, leading to a global pandemic. Bird flu has claimed 80 lives worldwide since 2003, including five in China.

"The amount asked for is small compared to the cost of a pandemic we are not ready for," U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said at the official opening in a video link message to the conference.

By the end of the event Wednesday, more than $1.8 billion dollars had been pledged by various countries and organizations.

The largest single donation was made by the World Bank, which offered a $500 million line of credit to the goal. Speaking by teleconference, World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz said more resources were urgently needed.

"Past outbreaks have already cost more than $10 billion in economic losses," he said. "We know from experience that if the international community does not support these control measures now, the potential cost to the world will be much higher in the long term."

The World Bank estimates a bird flu pandemic lasting a year would cost the global economy up to $800 billion.

Ambassador Nancy J. Powell, head of the U.S. delegation said, "We estimate U.S. funding toward this global effort for fiscal years 2005 and 2006 will be approximately $334 million from available sources, consisting largely of grants and technical assistance."

The United States will channel most of the funds through bilateral programs to help recipient countries, according to a statement released by the U.S Embassy in Beijing.

Powell said money will be used to develop national preparedness plans, improve surveillance and response systems, monitor and evaluate use and distribution of animal vaccine; produce and test H5N1 vaccine candidates; train local rapid-response teams and medical personnel as well as support public awareness campaigns to curb practices contributing to the spread of the avian virus.

"As part of the pledge of $334 million, we anticipate devoting over $56 million to international stockpiling of health supplies to contain animal and human outbreaks, and over $36 million dollars to support the influenza-related work of international technical agencies such as the World Health Organization," she added.

Powell said approximately $15 million will go to non-governmental organizations and private sector partners for animal health and surveillance activities and to support local-language public communications campaigns, while $41 million was earmarked for international research activities.

She also said the United States had "dedicated itself to a number of principles and priority actions which we believe are essential to an effective collaborative effort against the disease."

Key points in U.S. policy included "immediate sharing of epidemiological data and samples with the World Health Organization and with the international community" and "transparency in the reporting of influenza cases."

These are areas where some health analysts say China's performance needs constant monitoring. Wen, the official in charge of the day-to-day operation of the Chinese government, touched upon such concerns.

"China is a responsible country and is ready to continue cooperating with the international community...we are willing to share our experience with relevant countries and help them work out measures for the prevention and control of avian influenza," he said.

He said China "has taken a series of measures against the disease and made new progress."

These include amending China's law on pandemic prevention and control plus promulgating emergency rules to deal with the outbreak of serious animal diseases.

The establishment of a surveillance and early warning system covering all provinces has helped control the spread of bird flu, he added.

China has established a coordination mechanism among agriculture, public health, quality supervision and animal quarantine, and forestry departments and among various regions. Wen said the government had formulated policies on a free vaccine, compensation for farmers in bird flu-affected areas who have had their stock culled, and support for poultry raising.

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