China has lifted its ban on people with HIV entering the country.

The country’s State Council says that increased knowledge of HIV/AIDS has convinced it that the ban had limited impact on disease control and was an inconvenience for people visiting major events.

Although China has lifted the ban temporarily for major events – such as the Olympics – the new move will allow much freer movement for HIV-positive researchers and other members of the public.

“Previously, China viewed HIV/AIDS as an imported disease related to a corrupted lifestyle,” said Zhang Beichuan, a medical professor at Qingdao University, in a statement released by the Chinese government. “But now the government handles it with a public health perspective.”

America announced it was lifting its ban on HIV-positive travellers last year and the Republic of Korea lifted its ban at the start of this year.

According to the UN, China’s move leaves 51 countries, territories and areas with some form of restriction on the travel of HIV positive individuals. There are 23 countries that deport people who are discovered to be HIV-positive.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed China’s lifting of its ban and said, “Punitive policies and practices only hamper the global AIDS response. I urge all other countries with such restrictions to remove them as a matter of priority and urgency.”

All countries with “some form of restriction on the entry, stay and residence of people living with HIV based on their HIV status”, according to the UN:

Andorra; Armenia; Aruba; Australia; Bahrain; Belarus; Belize; Brunei Darussalam; Comoros; Cuba; Cyprus; Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; Egypt; Fiji; India; Iraq; Israel; Jordan; Kuwait; Lebanon; Lithuania; Malaysia; Marshall-Islands; Mongolia; Namibia; New-Zealand; Nicaragua; Oman; Papua New Guinea; Paraguay; Qatar; Republic of Moldova; Russian Federation; Samoa; Saudi Arabia; Singapore; Slovakia; Solomon Islands; Sudan; Syrian Arab Republic; Taiwan, China; Tajikistan; Tonga; Turkmenistan; Turks and Caicos Islands; Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; Uzbekistan; Yemen.

Image: UN map of countries with restrictions on travel of HIV-positive individuals (click for interactive version).