LONDON (REUTERS) - GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has appointed Mr Herve Gisserot as its new head of operations in China, amid a corruption scandal in the country that has rocked Britain's biggest drugmaker.

Mr Gisserot will take over from previous general manager Mark Reilly, who will remain with the drugmaker as a senior member of the management team, a spokesman said on Thursday.

At the same time, travel restrictions on GSK's finance head for China, Mr Steve Nechelput, which had prevented him from leaving the country, are believed to have been lifted, the spokesman said.