BEIJING, Dec 3 (Reuters) - A Chinese farmer has been given the all clear from HIV six years after testing HIV-positive, Xinhua news agency said on Monday.

Wen Congcheng, from the Chuanying district of northeastern Jilin, first tested HIV positive in 2001 at the Chuanying Disease Prevention and Control Centre when it was screening blood-plasma donors.

"Late in 2003, he was re-confirmed to have HIV/AIDS as a result of another test, this one by the disease prevention and control authorities of Jilin province," Xinhua said.

"After learning of the negative test result in July, Wen went to the First Hospital of China Medical University and (another) three hospitals for HIV tests, which all proved to be negative."

The results could not be immediately confirmed independently. Xinhua said experts at Chuanying were not clear why Wen tested negative, and further research was needed.

"I do not think that any drug has helped Wen to become clear of the virus," Xinhua quoted an expert as saying.

If the negative test results are verified, Wen would be the first person in China to become free of HIV after contracting it.

China has become increasingly open about AIDS in recent years, after initially denying the spread of the disease. But in some areas the epidemic is still stigmatised and civil society groups engaged in AIDS prevention work are periodically harassed.

In 2003, Andrew Stimpson, a 25-year-old Briton, tested HIV-negative 14 months after testing positive, sparking a media frenzy of speculation in late 2005 when the case came to light. (Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Nick Macfie and Jerry Norton)

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