Professor Heng Wang

Heng Wang is a professor and co-director of UNSW Law & Justice's Herbert Smith Freehills China International Business and Economic Law (CIBEL) Centre, the largest centre in this field outside China. He is also a co-director of the Tsinghua-UNSW Joint Research Centre for International Commercial and Economic Law (JCICEL). Heng has been recognized domestically and internationally for his contributions in the fields of international economic development and Chinese law, including being named Australia's research field leader in international law by The Australian newspaper’s Research 2020 magazine. Besides books, he has published extensively in leading journals in English and Chinese. 

His current research focuses on law and technology (particularly central bank digital currency (CBDC), digital currency and sustainable development), Chinese law, and international economic development (e.g., the Belt and Road Initiative, the China-US relationship, free trade agreements). His work has examined, among other topics, the future international financial system in view of CBDC, digital yuan, China’s approach to international economic order and the Belt and Road Initiative, the Belt and Road agreements, and US-China trade war.

He is the first investigator of a major research project funded by the Australian Research Council on regional economic governance, which will analyse issues including law and technology, finance, investment and dispute settlement.

Heng is currently or has been an Executive Council member of the Society of International Economic Law (2008-2015), a founding member of the Asian International Economic Law Network, a member of the Asian WTO Research Network, and an executive member of governing council of all three Chinese societies of international economic law or WTO law. He is an editorial board member of Asia Pacific Law Review. Prior to joining UNSW, Heng was a professor at the Southwest University of Political Science and Law (SWUPL), China, where he headed a WTO law centre. He has also been the recipient of over 20 top research awards and a number of major grants, including the triennial China Outstanding Law Research Award, twice, (China Law Society) and the Outstanding Research Award in Humanities and Social Science (Chinese Ministry of Education).  

As a leader in his field, Heng has spoken at over 70 universities across America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, including Harvard University, Oxford University, Columbia University, New York University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Virginia, the LSE and University of Paris 1. Furthermore, as a visiting professor, he has taught at the Case Western Reserve University, China University of Political Science and Law, SWUPL, University of Ottawa, Xiamen University, and Yokohama National University. More recently, he taught courses at National University of Singapore and Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen).Heng was also a Fernand Braudel Senior Fellow and Max Weber Fellow at the European University Institute, and conducted research at the WTO Secretariat. Furthermore, Heng’s more recent focus on the intersections between law and technology has led to a broad range of engagements, including serving as a panellist at the major events (e.g., DC FinTech Week at Capitol Hill), interviews with a leading podcast and media outlet, and the delivery of (keynote) addresses. 

Heng has advised or spoken at the events organized by the government, international organizations and institutions (e.g., the APEC, the Bank for International Settlements, International Chamber of Commerce, UNCITRAL, WTO), and the private sector, and is an arbitrator at arbitration institutions in and outside China. Heng is regularly interviewed by media in Australia, China, the US and elsewhere, including by the BBC, Reuters, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Al Jazeera, the South China Morning Post, SBS, Australia Financial Review, The Australian, and Yahoo Finance.