Dongsheng Zang

  • Associate Professor of Law

Contact

Phone: (206) 543-0830
Email: zangd@u.washington.edu

Dongsheng Zang

Education

LL.M. 1996, S.J.D. 2004, Harvard University LL.M. 1994, Renmin University (Beijing) LL.B. 1991, Beijing College of Economics

Curriculum Vitae

Areas of Expertise

Asian Law — International Business and Trade Law — Legal Philosophy and Theory

Recent Courses

Course Number Course Name
LAW A 574 International Law
LAW B 541 Chinese Law
LAW B 597 Journal Seminar
LAW E 545 International Trade Law
LAW E 546 International Commercial Arbitration

Professor Zang joined the faculty full-time in 2006, after serving as a visiting professor in 2005-06. His academic interests include international trade law, and comparative study of Chinese law, with a focus on the role of law and state in response to social crises in the social transformation in China. He holds an S.J.D. and LL.M. from Harvard Law School, in addition to his LL.M. from Renmin University (Beijing) and LL.B. from Beijing College of Economics. His doctoral dissertation, One-way Transparency: The Establishment of the Rule-based International Trade Order and the Predicament of Its Jurisprudence, was awarded the 2004 Yong K. Kim '95 prize. He was a research fellow at the East Asia Legal Studies at Harvard Law School during the 2004-05 academic year.

Peer Reviewed Journals & Law Reviews


Book Chapters


Book Reviews


  • Speaker, China’s Reception of the AI Revolution East Asian Legal Studies Program, Harvard Law School (October 9, 2024)
  • Speaker, Privacy in Fingerprint and DNA: United States and Japan Center for Asian Legal Studies, University of British Columbia (March 8, 2024)
  • Speaker, "AI Tech Innovation and Legal Responses in East Asia," AI Tech Innovation and Legal Responses in East Asia, Shizuoka University (March 30, 2022)
  • Panelist, "Executive Order on Immigration: Top Legal Issues for Washington Businesses," Washington State Bar Association, International Practice Section (April 19, 2017)
  • Panelist, "Land Tenure, Water Rights & Climate Migration," Climate-Migration, Local Conditions and Law: Food Security, Land Tenure and Gender, University of Washington School of Law and Washington Journal of Environmental Law and Policy (February 7, 2014)
  • Speaker, "Local Government's Liabilities in Responding to Climate Change," Adapting to Climate Change: Devising a Novel Legal Framework for Climate Migration, University of Wisconsin Law School, Global Legal Studies Center (November 10, 2012)
  • Speaker, Legal Barriers for Green Cities: Lessons for China China-US Professional Workshop on Regional Sustainable Development, University of Washington College of Built Environments, Center for Asian Urbanism (October 10, 2012)
  • Speaker, "China’s International Behavior: A Critique of Cultural Conception of Risk in International Politics," Clarke Program in East Asian Law and Culture: 2012 Colloquium Series, Cornell Law School (September 20, 2012)
  • Moderator, "New Perspectives on IPR Teaching in China: Judicial Decisions," with Jane Winn, Workshop, Tsinghua University School of Law (April 9, 2012)
  • "On April 8-9, Dongsheng Zang and Jane Winn co-chaired a workshop on “New Perspectives on IPR Teaching in China:  Judicial Decisions” at Tsinghua University School of Law in Beijing.," (April 8, 2012)
  • Speaker, "Using Cases to Teach Common Law," with Jane Winn, New Perspectives on IPR Teaching in China: Judicial Decisions, Tsinghua University School of Law (April 8, 2012)
  • Speaker, "Globalizations, Crisis, and Legal Education," Global Legal Education Forum, Harvard Law School (March 24, 2012)
  • Speaker, "Changes in China's Commercial Law and Implications on Doing Business in China," 2011 U.S.-China Legal Exchange, U.S. Department of Commerce, China Ministry of Commerce, and the Asia Society (October 17, 2011)
  • Panelist, "China and the Public International Legal Order," China, Taiwan, and International Law: A Symposium in Honor of Professor Hungdah Chiu, University of Maryland, Francis King Carey School of Law (October 6, 2011)
  • Speaker, "Regulating China's Renewable Energy in the Context of Globalization," Tsinghua University, Center for Environmental, Natural Resources and Energy Law (September 20, 2011)
  • Governing AI: Ethics and Tech Conference (Professor Zang will speak)
    Jun 09, 2025 | Source: Seattle U Law

    Annual Ethics and Tech conference will bring together industry and thought leaders around local and global implications of artificial intelligence. June 18, 2025 at Seattle University. Professor Dongsheng Zang is among the speakers.

  • Special Report: TikTok Survives Another Crisis (Professor Zang quoted)
    Jan 25, 2025 | Source: Caixin Weekly (China)

    "TikTok has never been so close to being shut down. After the near-death experience, is there a chance of a turnaround?" Professor Zang was quoted. (Chinese language article)

  • Hong Kong aprueba nueva ley de seguridad que endurece aún más las penas contra la disidencia (Professor Zang quoted)
    Mar 20, 2024 | Source: El Mercurio (Chile)

    "Esta nueva ley en Hong Kong envía una señal escalofriante a la comunidad empresarial. Las inversiones extranjeras en Hong Kong por parte de corporaciones occidentales ya han disminuido en el año 2023, y no hay duda de que esta nueva ley socavará aún más la confianza que los inversores extranjeros tienen en Hong Kong. Como centro financiero, la economía de Hong Kong depende del capital extranjero. (...) Y el hecho de que el capital extranjero esté huyendo de Hong Kong tiene un impacto negativo en la economía local: los mercados in-mobiliarios, el desempleo, los ingresos fiscales y el bienestar de todos los residentes que viven y trabajan en Hong Kong", comenta a este diario Dongsheng Zang, profesor de derecho de la Universidad de Washington y experto en derecho comercial internacional.

  • What future for Taiwan? Elections closely watched by mainland China (Professor Zang interviewed)
    Jan 11, 2024 | Source: France24

    Three candidates, two superpowers and one island. Taiwan is picking a president and a parliament on Saturday amid steadily surging nationalism in mainland China and all the talk of decoupling and derisking by the United States. Who will succeed the outgoing pro-Western president, Tsai Ing-wen? How high are the stakes? Professor Dongsheng Zang is interviewed.

  • China's boiling point? Protests spread over zero-covid policy (Prof. Zang featured)
    Nov 28, 2022 | Source: France24

    While much of the world wonders if the worst of Covid has run its course why nearly four years on is the country where the Coronavirus originated still under lock and key? Rare scenes of protest out of China, like in its most populous metropolis Shanghai spread during a weekend, where citizens clamored for an end to draconian confinements.

  • China doubles down: Can Xi Jinping stick to zero-Covid policy? (Prof. Zang interviewed)
    May 12, 2022 | Source: France 24

    Can China have it both ways? Can it keep out Covid-19 and maintain robust growth in the run-up to a crucial Communist Party Congress in the autumn, one that could make Xi Jinping president for life? Beijing seems to think the answer is yes as it doubles down on coronavirus restrictions, even as the official number of cases drops in places like Shanghai. Prof. Dongsheng Zang interviewed.

  • What one American’s case says about the future of the courts in Hong Kong (Prof. Zang quoted)
    Nov 14, 2021 | Source: Vox

    “If we can put this in a very honest way, Hong Kong is becoming just another city in China,” said Dongsheng Zang, an expert in Chinese law and a professor at the University of Washington School of Law. And in China, the rule of law is largely decided by the Chinese Communist Party.

  • Experts Fear New Hong Kong Doxxing Law Will Punish Opposition (Prof. Dongsheng Zang quoted)
    Nov 07, 2021 | Source: Voice of America

    Experts say a contentious Hong Kong law against online doxxing that took effect in October will be used to punish opposition figures for revealing personal information about police and authorities, as well as infringe on people’s privacy.