Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has visited AIDS patients in a poverty-stricken area in southwest China and urged the better combination of AIDS control work with economic development in less developed areas.

The central government attached great importance to HIV/AIDS control in regions inhabited by ethnic minorities and in less developed areas, Wen said during his visit to Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The AIDS control methods should be incorporated into the efforts to boost economic and social development, poverty reduction and anti-drugs campaigns, he said.

Both prevention and treatment should be included in AIDS control efforts, and the focus should be on preventive measures, Wen said.

Wen also visited AIDS patients in local hospitals in Liangshan, along with a local Yi ethnic villager who is an AIDS patient and children whose parents had died of AIDS or drug use.

He also praised the work of medical staff in the hospitals and called on them to make further efforts in both AIDS treatment and AIDS prevention education.

Further, he promised more favorable policies to attract and secure medical workers in grassroots medical agencies.

Wen attended a conference Tuesday on AIDS control and listened to reports and advice by local officials and AIDS experts.

He also asked local governments to promote AIDS education, monitoring, prevention and treatment measures.

He called for better pay for medical workers and more efforts in medical facility constructions to improve the standards of health services throughout the region.