Mr. Zhang Xinsheng is President of China Education Association for International Exchange. He served as Vice Minister of
Education of the People's Republic of China, Chairman of the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO and President of
China Scholarship Council. He was a member of China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development
and Chinese Language Council International. He was Vice President of the Chinese Olympic Committee. Mr. Zhang
Xinsheng is also the Secretary-General of Eco-Forum Guiyang.
Mr. Zhang joined the Government in 1977 and held key positions successively in China’s central, provincial and municipal governments. He was elected, from 1989 to 1997, Mayor of Suzhou, a famous historical and cultural metropolitan city as
well as one of the leading economic cities in China. During this period, for the protection of the historical city, the government of Suzhou created a new development model of promoting urbanization by integrating urban and rural areas in a better way. As one of the initiators, he was appointed concurrently Chairman of the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park Administrative Committee and Co-Chair of the Working Committee of the China-Singapore Joint Government Steering Committee. From 1986 to 1989, he was Vice Chairman of China National Tourism Administration and led the formulation of China’s first standard specification and assessment for tourist enterprises.

Before that, as one of the founders, Mr. Zhang was Executive Managing Director of Nanjing Jinling Corporation. His working experience in industries star ted from the workshop and general engineer office of Nanjing Panda Radio Factory.

During his tenure of Vice Minister of Education in charge of policy and international cooperation, Mr. Zhang par ticipated in the formulation and revision of impor tant education policies and regulations including Law on Promotion of Privately-run Schools and Regulations on Chinese-Foreign Cooperation in Running Schools. He initiated mutual recognition of credentials between China and many developed countries and established ministerial consultative mechanism with these countries. He was also involved in the organization of the First Chinese-Foreign University Presidents Forum and the implementation of China-Africa, China-ASEAN, Sino-Arab and Shanghai Cooperation Organization mechanisms of education exchange and cooperation. He was Vice Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Chinese Language Council International, and standing member of the Confucius Institute Headquarters, Chairman on Chinese side of the Education Committee of Sino-Russia People-to-People and Cultural Exchange Commission. Mr. Zhang is currently member of China-Japan Friendship Committee for the 21st Century and Vice President of Chinese Overseas-educated Scholars Association. Mr. Zhang Xinsheng is also director of International Institute for Education Planning, UNESCO and Global Agenda Council, World Economic Forum, as well as a member of UNESCO Global 10 Experts Advisory Committee. He was elected as Deputy to the 7th and 8th China National People's Congress and member of the 11th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Mr. Zhang has been holding key positions in international organizations. In 2005, he was elected Chairman of the Executive Board of UNESCO and became the very first chairman from East Asia. From 2003 to 2004, he presided at the UNESCO World Heritage Committee. For many years, he has been making effor t to China’s World Heritage Application. Since 2003,
he has been elected as Vice President of the International University Spor ts Federation (FISU, Bruxelles), President of Asian University Spor ts Federation as well as President of Federation of University Spor ts of China.

Mr. Zhang graduated from China Military Institute of Technology and Hangzhou University. In 1980, he was selected as visiting scholar to USA by government. He received his Master's Degree in urban planning with distinction from Graduate School of Design, Harvard University in 1998. Before that, he completed the Advanced Management Program, 99 session, at Harvard Business School, later invited as the School’s visiting research fellow. He has been awarded Doctorates honoriscausa by universities in the United States of America, Australia, Japan and Russia.