The Chinese navy hospital ship Peace Ark has begun an eight-day port call in East Timor, where its medical staff will attend to patients free of charge, Xinhua reports.

The Chinese state-run news agency says East Timorese Defence and Security Minister Agostinho Somotxo and Chinese Ambassador to East Timor Liu Hongyang were among the 500 people on the quayside to greet the ship.

The report says the current deployment of the Peace Ark, which has over 300 hospital beds, has taken it to several countries, including Angola and Mozambique, where its medical staff treated patients free of charge.

East Timor is the last country the ship will visit on its current deployment before returning to China, Xinhua says.