China to make substantial changes to COVID policy soon- former govt expert

Citi declined to comment on Zeng's remarks.

Substantial changes to China's "dynamic-zero" COVID-19 policy are set to take place soon, a former Chinese disease control official told a conference hosted by investment bank Citi on Friday, according to a recording of the session heard by Reuters. Zeng Guang, a former chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention who has remained outspoken on China's COVID fight, said that the conditions for China opening up were "accumulating", citing new vaccines and progress the country had made in antiviral drug research.

Asked by Citi chief China economist Yu Xiangrong if China would open up after its annual meeting of parliament that traditionally takes place early in the year, he said many new policies would be introduced in the next five to six months, without detailing what information he was basing this on. Citi declined to comment on Zeng's remarks. Zeng and Yu did not immediately respond to requests for comment.