Dr. James Zhan chairs the Executive Board of the World Investment Conference (WAIPA) and co-chairs the Global Alliance of Special Economic Zones (GASEZ). He is the co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative, a global program in partnership with major stock exchanges worldwide. Dr. Zhan is also a Senior Advisor for the International Labor Organization (ILO). He serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Financial Times’ fDi Magazine.
Dr. Zhan is a senior fellow affiliated with the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) and a Senior Research Associate at Oxford University. He holds several advisory positions at leading academic institutions, including Oxford University, Columbia University, Cornell University, and Fribourg University.
From 2023 to 2024, Dr. Zhan served as the Chief Advisor to the Secretary-General at the United Nations Trade and Development Agency (UNCTAD). From 2008 to 2023, he was the Senior Director of Investment and Enterprise at UNCTAD and the Chief Editor of the UN World Investment Report and the Transnational Corporations journal. He led the formulation of the Investment Policy Framework for Sustainable Development (IPFSD), a new generation of investment strategies and policies used in over 150 countries and major regional groupings. He established the World Investment Forum in 2008, leading it to become a prominent global platform for investment stakeholders worldwide.
Dr. Zhan has published more than 100 journal articles and book chapters on investment, trade, technology, and sustainable finance-related economic and legal issues. He has also led the preparation of over 300 publications and substantive reports for the United Nations.