In January 2006, the Chinese Ministry of Public Health, the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS and the World Health Organization jointly issued the 2005 Report on China's AIDS Condition and Prevention and Control Work. The report shows that till the end of 2005, the country had approximately 650,000, or between 540,000 and 760,000, HIV virus carriers, among which people living with AIDS totaled 75,000; the average infection rate was 0.05 percent. In 2005 alone, around 70,000 people were infected with HIV virus and about 25,000 died of AIDS.

The HIV infection rate among drug users rose from 1.95 percent in 1996 to 6.48 percent in 2004; for prostitutes, from 0.02 percent to 0.93 percent, and for pregnant women in high prevalence regions, from zero in 1997 to 0.26 percent in 2004. These numbers show that China's AIDS situation is deteriorating with infections and fatalities growing. The epidemic has spread from high-vulnerability groups to regular ones. New infections mainly come from drug use and unprotected sexual contact and the scourge is in danger of spreading further.

On March 1, 2006, the Regulations on AIDS Prevention and Control promulgated by the State Council took effect. It stipulates the responsibilities of governments at all levels in the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS and clarifies the rights and responsibilities of HIV virus carriers. The Ministry of Public Health also issued the Action Plan of AIDS Prevention and Control (2006-10), nailing down the goal of AIDS prevention and control work as containing the number of HIV carriers in the country to under 1.5 million by 2010.