Chen Xiaoyang, male, Han nationality, is a native of Nanchong, Sichuan Province. He was born in 1958, and graduated from Beijing Forestry University in 1980. He earned MA and Ph.D. degrees and from 1995 to 1998 was director of the Forestry Department of the Tibet Farming and Herding College.
In 1994 Chen was honored as a remarkable youth expert by the Ministry of Forestry. He was senior visiting scholar at Victoria University in Canada and became vice-president of Beijing Forestry University on his return.