Hesheng stated this on the sidelines of the second session of the National People's Congress (NPC).
“Chinese experts generally believe that the risks of a global pandemic caused by Disease X continue to grow,” TASS quotes him as saying.
He clarified that the risks are associated with a number of factors, including the acceleration of climate change, the expansion of human activity, as well as private interspecies transmission of viral pathogens.
At the same time, Hesheng emphasized that a pandemic of this disease can be avoided.
Earlier, the head of Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, explained that “disease X” is not a specific virus, but a term that is used to model various situations.