Bill Gates (R), Microsoft Corp co-founder and co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, laughs after he and Robin Li, founder and chief executive of Chinese search engine Baidu, put on shirts bearing the slogan: "Say No to Involuntary Smoking", during a media conference in Beijing June 11, 2011. Gates and Li signed an agreement to form an alliance between their charitable foundations called the "Alliance for Healthy China". [Photo/Agencies]

BEIJING - Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates is visiting China to raise awareness of the dangers of secondhand smoke.

Gates appeared at a news conference in Beijing on Saturday alongside Chinese Internet executive Robin Li and Vice Health Minister Huang Jiefu to encourage nonsmokers to stand up for their right to a smoke-free environment.

According to government statistics, smoking is linked to the deaths of at least 1 million people in China every year. Nearly 30 percent of adults in China smoke - about 300 million people.

The risks of secondhand smoke include increased asthma attacks, ear and respiratory infections, and cancer.