As mentioned earlier, the new message about AIDS in China is that, if left unchecked, it will create a financial nightmare for the developing country and have a direct effect on business. Now, international business leaders are urging China to allow private businesses to take on the menace:

International business leaders are urging China’s government to head off what some fear may be an explosion of AIDS cases in the world’s most populous country. Participants at the World Economic Forum in Beijing say China’s government should allow private businesses to lead the fight against the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

[….]

Dr. Peter Piot, the head of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, warns that a rising infection rate would have grave economic consequences for China. “The choice is very clear. It’s either act now or pay later,” he says. “Act now and prevent millions of Chinese from being infected or deal with it five or 10 years from now, when the cost of treatment, the cost for business and for individuals will be much higher. That’s why this is such an important issue for the government and for business to tackle now, before there is a big problem.”

The experts are urging the Chinese government to allow businesses to do more to educate people, especially in the impoverished rural areas of western and central China where infection rates are higher.

The article notes that with even less than one percent of the Chinese population now infected, the country’s infection rate is now where South Africa’s was in 1990; now, the infection rate has soared to above 25 percent.

As the business leaders are urging Beijing to allow businesses to take up the battle, one can only wonder why they should have to “urge” the CCP to allow such an obviously pressing need. Wouldn’t the government do whatever is necessary to save the lives of tens of millions of its citizens? But never mind. Let’s hope the new argument, based on dollar signs, has some results.