Name: Zhenjun Zhang
Title: Secretary General & Research Fellow
Employer: China Institute of Space Law
Major achievements and responsibilities:
Prof. Zhang has served as Expert Group D member of UNCOPUOS Working Group on Long Term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities since 2011. He authored China’s Position Paper on the Issues of Long-term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities, which was published in UNCOPUOS in 2016. He participated as Chinese Delegation member in UNCOPUOS sessions since 2011, focusing on the draft guideline consultations for the Long Term Sustainability(LTS)initiative.
Prof. Zhang advises widely on space diplomacy for various space agencies/organisations including China National Space Administration(CNSA)and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation(CASC). He has served as Vice President of China Center for Aerospace Science and Technology Communications since 2016.
Prof. Zhang has been fostering China’s space law capacity building by organising and sponsoring up to 70 research projects on space law and policy since 2011 across China’s space law and policy community. He has served as organizer and/or keynote speaker for a great number of national and international events on space law and policy in China and beyond.
Prof. Zhang has been enthusiastically promoting China’s national space legislation process, which in 2013 led to a national legislation plan with space law included, as approved by China’s top legislature. Since 2014, he has served as one of the major contributors for the first draft National Space Law of China and related supportive documents. He proactively participated in the drafting process of China’s two most recent White Papers on space activities, i.e. “China’s Space Activities in 2011” and “China’s Space Activities in 2016”.
Prof. Zhang has served as founding Editor-in-Chief of China’s national Yearbook of Space Law Studies since 2012. As author for dozens of papers on space law and policy, he published in 2012 a monograph titled Study on the International Legal Regime Governing Lunar Resource Exploitation Activities. He serves as co-translator of CoLogne Commentary on Space Law(CoCoSL)Volume I, whose first ever Chinese version made its debut in 2017.
Prof. Zhang initiated in 2012 the joint Annual Colloquium of Chinese Society of Astronautics and China Institute of Space Law as China’s signature national event to bring together space scientists and
space social scientists for academic exchanges. This event has developed into China Space Conference since 2018 in celebration of China’s National Day for Space Flight. He also serves as founding Editor for the Annual Colloquium Proceedings of China Institute of Space Law since 2012.
Prof. Zhang was elected as IISL Board director in 2015. He has also served as member of the IISL Moot Court Committee since 2013. He played a significant role for China to host and fund IISL events during the 64 th IAC in 2013 as well as the Asia Pacific Regional Round of Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition in 2014, the first time to bring the Regional Round to China. He has served as organiser for China’s National Funding Round of the IISL Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition since 2011.
Prof. Zhang was elected as Corresponding Member for Section 4 – Social Sciences of the International Academy of Astronautics(IAA)in 2017. He served as co-chair and co-editor of IAA Study(SG3.17)on Space Mineral Resources – A Global Assessment on the Challenges and Opportunities, which was published in the USA in 2015, with its Chinese version published in China in 2017
Education
Master of Laws(2006-2009), Renmin University of China
MBA(2000-2002), The George Washington University, USA
Candidate for PhD in International Law and Economics(2013-), Beijing Institute of Technology, China
