China's first lady Peng Liyuan called for more social support for children affected by HIV/AIDS at the launch of the Love in the Sunshine China-Africa Children Summer Camp on Friday.

Fifty-seven children from China, South Africa, Ghana and Zimbabwe arrived in Beijing on Thursday for the camp, scheduled to run into August 2.

"Like the healthy, children suffering or affected by AIDS are the world's future, and regardless of their HIV status, nationality and color, they deserve care, support and a happy childhood," Peng said at the launch held at the Palace Museum, or Forbidden City, in Beijing.

Peng and the children finished a paper-cut work named Hand in Hand at the ceremony, attended by about 200 people, including Thobeka Madiba Zuma, the first lady of South Africa, and WHO Director-General Margaret Chan.

The annual summer camp program was initiated in 2010 by the Chinese Association of STD and AIDS Prevention and Control, and this year's is reportedly the first with children from abroad.

In December, Peng attended an anti-AIDS advocacy event in Johannesburg, South Africa, and said China would consistently support African countries in fighting AIDS and support the WHO and UNAIDS in Africa.

Peng's engagement with anti-AIDS efforts dates back 10 years in helping children affected by HIV/AIDS and promoting prevention messages. In 2011, she was appointed as WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Tuberculosis and HIV.