BEIJING - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has promised more initiatives to prevent and treat AIDS in order to limit its spread.

"We need to guarantee spending on prevention and treatment, especially in the worst-hit regions and poverty-stricken areas in the center and west of China," said Li in a written instruction published on Monday, the eve of World AIDS Day.

He said social organizations should be brought more into play and called for faster development of anti-AIDS drugs, while stressing that health insurance needs to be put in place to reduce the burden for those most in need.

The premier also said an action plan for AIDS prevention and treatment for the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020) must be formulated as soon as possible,

Latest figure suggests there were 575,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in China by the end of October, and 177,000 had died following infection.