In 2018, scientists from the Imperial College of London used gene-editing tools to render female mosquitoes sterile, while males developed normally and continued spreading the genetic mutation.
Running a mosquito factory in southern China, he previously attempted to use sterilized male mosquitoes to mate with unaltered females.
"We're building good mosquitoes that can help us fight the bad ones", Xi told CNN in 2016.
Female mosquitoes were sterilized with low level radiation while the males were infected with the Wolbachia bacteria, then both were released during the peak breeding seasons in 2016 and 2017 on two islands near Guangzhou city.
The results were so successful they nearly eradicated the entire female mosquito population on the two islands.