BEIJING - A total of 436,800 people were living with HIV or AIDS in China by the end of 2013, while 136,300 had died from the disease, according to figures from health authorities.

Mortality for the disease dropped to 6.6 percent last year from 17.9 percent in 2005, Wu Zunyou, head of the HIV/AIDS division of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Friday.

The decline in mortality was attributed to policies such as free HIV tests for all and free treatment for rural and poor urban citizens, according to Wu.

Wu said 95 percent of confirmed HIV/AIDS patients are under follow-up care.

Sex remains the major transmission channel for HIV, according to Wu.

Nearly 91 percent of the newly reported HIV/AIDS patients in China in 2013 were infected through sexual contact.

About 21.4 percent of all new cases resulted from same-sex contact, compared with 2.5 percent in 2006, Wu noted.