China and International Law: How Did the Story Go?

Abstract: This talk presents and analyses the approaches of a selection of Chinese scholars towards the history of international law. These materials will be analysed from three perspectives: 1) the evolvement of historical narratives of international law in China; 2) the history of China and international law as part of Chinese national history – how historical narratives of international law in China have been linked with that of Chinese nation-building, and how they are employed to make sense of China’s contemporary approaches to international law; and 3) the history of China and international law as part of the global history of international law – how the Chinese historiography of international law could be read in the context of a global attempt to overcome Eurocentrism in historical narratives of international law.

Bio: Binxin Zhang is a PhD scholar in political science at Sciences Po Paris. Her previous working experiences include as Assistant Professor of Public International Law at Xiamen University Law School (2013-2021) and Legal Officer in the International Committee of the Red Cross Regional Delegation for East Asia (2010-2011). She has been visiting scholar at National Taiwan University, the Australian National University and Sciences Po (Paris) Law School. She is a core expert of the Woomera Manual Project on the International Law of Military Space Operations, member of the International Panel on the Regulation of Autonomous Weapons, and an Editorial Board member of the Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies. She holds a PhD in international law from Renmin University of China.

To register for the event, please fill the form before noon 22 Feb. Prior to the seminar, you will be sent a Microsoft Teams link to join. 

The speaker's published article on the topic is available here.