At the end of 2011, the estimated number of people living with HIV in China stood at 780,000 people, according to the 2012 China AIDS Response Progress Report, issued by the Chinese Ministry of Health. HIV prevalence varies significantly between different population groups, with prevalence greatest amongst drug users.

MMT, which helps injection drug users reduce or stop injecting, has become one of the main actions taken in China to control the spread of HIV among drug users, according to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Since 2004, China has rapidly scaled up MMT from eight to 716 clinics with 332,996 cumulatively enrolled drug users by September 2011.

"China's MMT is a successful AIDS treatment model in developing countries," said Wu Zunyou, Director of the CDC National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention.

The case study is also an important international cooperation program under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a $15-billion effort launched in 2003 by former U.S. President George W. Bush. The plan received an additional $48 billion in funding in 2008.

"CDC is a wonderful research partner for us," said Nora D. Volkow, Director of the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse. "We have a very strong collaboration and now are working on the implementation of two projects about injection drug user treatment."

In recent years, China has continued to strengthen its HIV testing network and improve testing capacities. While continuing to roll out voluntary counseling and testing, it has actively promoted provider-initiated testing and counseling services, expanding coverage of HIV testing and counseling. In 2011, 14,571 medical treatment facilities at various levels across China carried out over 84.2 million HIV tests, finding 74,517 new cases of HIV.

Efforts to strengthen blood safety have been increased. In 2010, DNA testing was introduced in blood banks. By the end of 2011, more than 1.76 million blood samples had been tested, according to the Chinese Ministry of Health.

"China has made tremendous progress," Sidibe told Beijing Review. "I'm very optimistic about China's response."

According to the UNAIDS report, Together We Will End AIDS, China is now one of the top five contributors to research, with $18.3 million invested in research on HIV vaccines in 2011.

(Reporting from Washington, D.C.)

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