Top seed Zverev, who won the US Open earlier this month and helped Team Europe claim the Laver Cup, will open against British left-hander Cameron Norrie. The German has won 46 of his past 47 matches against left-handers and is a three-time semi-finalist in Beijing.
Djokovic, a six-time champion in the Chinese capital with a perfect 29-0 record at the event, returns for the first time since 2015. The 39-year-old Serbian faces Nuno Borges in the first round and could meet Zverev in the last eight. Djokovic leads their head-to-head 9-5 and won their most recent encounter at Roland Garros last year.
Third seed Daniil Medvedev, who defeated Zverev in Beijing last year, is also in the top half of the draw and will face a qualifier. Eighth seed Jakub Mensik opens against Alexander Bublik in an eye-catching first-round match.
In the bottom half, second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime meets Karen Khachanov, while seventh seed Learner Tien takes on Hubert Hurkacz. Fifth seed Alex de Minaur faces Mariano Navone and could encounter Flavio Cobolli in the quarter-finals.
Cobolli, currently fifth in the Live Race to Turin, will look to strengthen his bid for a first Nitto ATP Finals appearance when he plays Roman Safiullin in the opening round.
The China Open offers valuable ranking points as the season enters its final stretch. Zverev has the chance to close the gap on world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who is not competing this week and will lose the 500 points he earned by winning the title last year.