BEIJING - The number of Chinese students registered as infected with HIV is on the rise, with homosexual transmission becoming the major cause of new infections, an official said on Saturday.

A total of 1,700 students were reported HIV positive in 2012, a 24.5-percent increase year on year, said Yu Jingjin, an official with the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

Of the newly reported 1,700 cases, 64.8 percent of the infections are attributable to homosexual contact, Yu said, adding that 87 percent of the total HIV/AIDS cases in 2012 came via sexual transmission.

In total, China has reported more than 7,000 students living with HIV. The first AIDS patient in China was found in 1985.