--- description: Find out why Zhong Nanshan is one of the 100 most influential people of 2020. title: Zhong Nanshan: The 100 Most Influential People of 2020 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdfd478ef99673df1/698a124d457a526b50d646a9/time-100-Zhong-Nanshan.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 22, 2020 # Zhong Nanshan by Margaret Chan  Zhong Nanshan, President of the Chinese Medical Association, arrives at the Great Hall of the People to attend the preliminary conference for the Fifth Session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, China, 4 March 2017\. The preliminary conference for the Fifth session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) was held in Beijing, China, 4 March 2017\. The third session of the 12th NPC will open on March 5 in Beijing. No Use China. No Use France. Zhong Nanshan, President of the Chinese Medical Association, arrives at the Great Hall of the People to attend the preliminary conference for the Fifth Session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, China, 4 March 2017\. The preliminary conference for the Fifth session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) was held in Beijing, China, 4 March 2017\. The third session of the 12th NPC will open on March 5 in Beijing. No Use China. No Use France.Modesto Matt—Imaginechina Dr. Zhong Nanshan, an experienced epidemiologist and physician, has been leading China’s National Health Commission’s expert panel for investigating the [COVID-19 outbreak in the country](https://time.com/5813628/china-coronavirus-statistics-wuhan/ "undefined"). He has become the public face of [China’s efforts to halt the spread](https://time.com/5836611/china-superpower-reopening-coronavirus/ "undefined"). After visiting [Wuhan](https://time.com/5885262/wuhan-pandemic-covid19-coronavirus-recovery/ "undefined"), Dr. Zhong spoke out frankly about human-to-human transmission, and suggested evidence-based prevention and control measures to contain the disease. As a trusted doctor, he is very effective in calming public fear and anxiety with facts, and promoting community support for public-health measures. Dr. Zhong has earned recognition for his dedication, integrity, academic and professional achievements, and for [sharing China’s successful control efforts](https://time.com/5862482/china-beijing-coronavirus-second-wave-covid19-xinfadi/ "undefined") and treatment plan with the international community. On Sept. 8, President Xi Jinping awarded Dr. Zhong a Medal of the Republic, the highest state honor, for his great contribution to China’s fight against the epidemic. _Chan is a former director-general of the World Health Organization and the inaugural dean of the Vanke School of Public Health at Tsinghua University in China_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888415/zhong-nanshan/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888415/zhong-nanshan/"},"headline":"Zhong Nanshan","datePublished":"2020-09-22T17:23:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:22:19.502Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888415/zhong-nanshan/","keywords":["TIME 100","T100 2020","T100 2020 Titans"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdfd478ef99673df1/698a124d457a526b50d646a9/time-100-Zhong-Nanshan.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdfd478ef99673df1/698a124d457a526b50d646a9/time-100-Zhong-Nanshan.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888415/zhong-nanshan/","name":"Zhong Nanshan"}}]}] ```