Beijing, April 28, 2010: CHINA announced overnight that it had lifted travel restrictions for foreigners who suffer from HIV and AIDS ahead of the 2010 Expo.

The State Council, or cabinet, announced that an amendment to the law on the entry of foreigners into China had removed the travel ban on HIV/AIDS carriers to the nation effective today.

The newly amended law was published in full on the government website.

State press reports said the move would be made ahead of the opening of the Shanghai World Expo, which opens on Sunday and is expecting up to 100 million visitors during its six-month run.

Although most of the visitors are expected to be Chinese, up to four million foreigners could attend the Expo.

The new law was immediately praised by the United Nations.

"I commend President Hu Jintao for China's decision to remove travel restrictions based on HIV status," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon 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." According to official statistics, there are 740,000 HIV-positive people living in China.

Read also:

China lifts travel restrictions for HIV carriers