UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

(Amendment No.    )

Filed by the Registrant  ☐                             Filed by a Party other than the Registrant  ☐

Check the appropriate box:  ☐

ZAI LAB LIMITED

(Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)

Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):

PRELIMINARY PROXY STATEMENT—SUBJECT TO COMPLETION

This document shall also serve as a circular to holders of the ordinary shares of Zai Lab Limited for purposes of the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on theThe Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited or the (“HK Listing Rules.Rules”).

4560 Jinke Road

Bldg. 1, Fourth Floor

Pudong, Shanghai, China 201210

(Nasdaq Trading Symbol: ZLAB; HKEx Stock Code: 9688)

Notice is hereby given that an Extraordinarythe 2022 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (the “EGM”“Annual Meeting”) of Zai Lab Limited (the “Company” or “us”) will be held:

The purpose of the meeting is to consider and vote on the following matters:

FROM: US$30,000.00 divided into 500,000,000 shares with a par value of US$0.00006 each;

TO: US$30,000.00 divided into 5,000,000,000 shares with a par value of US$0.000006 each (the “Share Subdivision”).

Your vote is important to us. Whether or not you expect to attend the EGM,Annual Meeting, we urge you to vote your shares as soon as possible. The manner in which you hold your shares will dictate how you can vote:

Shareholders of Ordinary Shares

ADS Holders

By Order of the Board of Directors,

[insert signature]

Samantha (Ying) Du

Director, ChairwomanChairperson of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer

February [28]May [2], 2022

ZAI LAB LIMITED

PROXY STATEMENT FOR

EXTRAORDINARY2022 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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PRELIMINARY PROXY STATEMENT—SUBJECT TO COMPLETION

ZAI LAB LIMITED

4560 Jinke Road

Bldg. 1, Fourth Floor

Pudong, Shanghai, China 201210

PROXY STATEMENT

FOR AN EXTRAORDINARYTHE 2022 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS FOR THE SHAREHOLDER MEETING TO BE HELD ON MARCH 28,JUNE 22, 2022

This Proxy Statement is furnished in connection withand the solicitation of proxies byAnnual Report on Form 10-K for the Board of Directorsfiscal year ended December 31, 2021 of Zai Lab Limited (the “Board”“Company” or “us”) are available for useviewing, printing and downloading at an Extraordinary General Meeting www.proxyvote.com. To view these materials, please have your 16-digit control number included on your Notice of ShareholdersInternet Availability of Proxy Materials.

You may also obtain a printed copy of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 (the “EGM”“2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K”), and our annual report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 prepared in accordance with the HK Listing Rules (the “2021 HK Annual Report”), to be held at 8:00 a.m. (U.S. Eastern Time) on March 28, 2022 / 8:00 p.m. (Hong Kong Time) on March 28, 2022including audited consolidated financial statements, free of charge by sending a written request to: Zai Lab Limited at 4560 Jinke Road, Bldg. 1, Fourth Floor, Pudong, Shanghai, China 201210, Attention Corporate Secretary. Exhibits to our 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K will be provided upon written request and virtuallypayment of an appropriate processing fee. Copies of our 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K and this Proxy Statement are also available online through the SEC, at www.sec.gov, The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the “HKEx”), at www.hkexnews.hk and on our website at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/ZLAB2022SM forhttps://www.zailaboratory.com/ under “Investors.” Copies of our 2021 HK Annual Report are also available online through the purpose of consideringHKEx at www.hkexnews.hk and if thought fit, passingon our website at https://www.zailaboratory.com/ under “Investors.”

All references to “Zai Lab,” the resolution specified“Company,” “we,” “us” or “our” in the Notice of EGM. Thisthis Proxy Statement is being mailed to shareholders on or about February 28, 2022.mean Zai Lab Limited.

Why did I receive a one-page notice in the mail regarding the Internet availability of proxy materials instead of a full set of proxy materials?

Pursuant to rules adopted by the SEC, we have elected to provide access to our proxy materials over the Internet. Accordingly, we have sent you a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials (the “Notice”), because the Board of Directors is soliciting your proxy to vote at the Annual Meeting, including at any adjournments or postponements of the meeting. All shareholders will have the ability to access the proxy materials on the website referred to in the Notice or ask to receive a printed set of the proxy materials. Instructions on how to access the proxy materials over the Internet or to request a printed copy may be found in the Notice. We intend to mail the Notice on or about May 2, 2022 to all shareholders of record entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting.

We encourage you to take advantage of the availability of the proxy materials on the Internet in order to help lower the costs of delivery and reduce the Company’s environmental impact.

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Will I receive any other proxy materials by mail?

We may send you a proxy card or a second notice on or after May 22, 2022. Holders of record of our American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”) as of 4:30 p.m. (Shanghai and Hong Kong Time) on April 25, 2022, or the ADS record date, will receive ADS voting instructions from the depositary of the ADSs, Citibank, N.A. (“Citibank”).

Why am I receiving these materials?

You received these materials because ourthe Board of Directors is soliciting your proxy to vote your shares at the EGM.Annual Meeting. As a shareholder of record as of 4:30 p.m. (Hong(Shanghai and Hong Kong Time) on February 18,April 25, 2022, you are invited to attend the EGMAnnual Meeting and are entitled to vote on the items of business described in this Proxy Statement. Holders of our ADS(s)ADSs will not be entitled to attend the EGMAnnual Meeting and cannot vote their ADSs directly. Holders of our ADSs as of the ADS record date may exercise the voting rights with respect to the underlying ordinary shares in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement among the Company, Citibank and the holders and beneficial owners of ADSs or the deposit agreement.(the “deposit agreement”).

What does it mean if I receive more than one notice regarding the Internet availability of proxy materials or more than one set of printed proxy materials?

If you hold your shares in more than one account, you may receive a separate Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials or a separate set of printed proxy materials, including a separate proxy card or voting instruction form, for each account. To help ensure that all your shares are voted, pleasesplease vote by Internet or by signing, dating and returning a proxy card or voting instruction form for each account.

Why is the EGMAnnual Meeting a hybrid meeting?

Due to the ongoing public health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and to support the health and well-being of our directors, employees and shareholders, this year we will continue to rely on the latest technology to host a “hybrid” EGM.Annual Meeting. We believe that embracing the latestavailable technology provides expanded access, improved communication and cost savings for our shareholders. Combined with allowing traditional in-person attendance, we believe that this strikes the righta good balance between leveraging technology and maintaining the ability for our directors, employees and shareholders to interact in person.

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with respect to all matters to be acted upon at the EGM.Annual Meeting. Of these shares, approximately [●] of the [●] outstanding ordinary shares were held in the name of Citibank, as depositary for the ADSs, each representing one ordinary share of our Company. Each shareholder of record is entitled to one vote for each ordinary share held by such shareholder. Holders of our ADS(s)ADSs cannot vote their ADSs directly. Instead, holders of our ADSs may exercise the voting rights with respect to the underlying ordinary shares in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement.

How do I submit questions at the EGM?Annual Meeting?

Shareholders who wish to raise questions at the EGMAnnual Meeting must submit their questions priorin advance to the meeting. To submit questions in advance of the EGM,Annual Meeting, go to www.proxyvote.com before 8:00 a.m. (U.S. Eastern Time) on March 26,June 21, 2022 and enter the 16-digit control number included on your proxy card or on the instructions that accompanied your proxy materials.Notice.

What am I voting on?

You will be voting on an ordinary resolution to authorize and approveThere are fifteen matters scheduled for a share subdivision whereby, with effect from March 30, 2022 (the “Effective Date”), subject to and conditional upon the Listing Committee of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the “Hong Kong Stock Exchange”) granting the listing of, and permission to deal in, (i) the Subdivided Ordinary Shares (as defined below), (ii) any Subdivided Ordinary Shares which may be issued upon exercise of the outstanding share options granted by the Company or any Subdivided Ordinary Shares which may be issued upon vesting of the share awards under the equity incentive plan adopted by the shareholders of the Company on August 21, 2015 (as amended on February 3, 2016 and April 10, 2016) (the “2015 Equity Plan”) and under the equity incentive plan adopted by the shareholders of the Company on August 11, 2017 (the “2017 Equity Plan”), and (iii) any Subdivided Ordinary Shares which may be issued upon the exercise of share options or any Subdivided Ordinary Shares which may be issued upon vesting of the share awards to be granted from time to time under the 2015 Equity Plan and the 2017 Equity Plan, (a) each issued and unissued Ordinary Share with a par value of US$0.00006 each (the “Existing Ordinary Share(s)” or “Ordinary Share(s)”) in the capital of the Company will be subdivided into ten Ordinary Shares with a par value of US$0.000006 each (the “Subdivided Ordinary Shares”), and (b) the authorized share capital of the Company will be amended as follows:

FROM: US$30,000.00 divided into 500,000,000 shares with a par value of US$0.00006 each;

TO: US$30,000.00 divided into 5,000,000,000 shares with a par value of US$0.000006 each (the “Share Subdivision”).vote:

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What if another matter is properly brought before the meeting?

OurThe Board of Directors knows of no other matters that will be presented for consideration at the EGM.Annual Meeting. If any other matters are properly brought before the meeting, it is the intention of the persons named in the accompanying proxy to vote on those matters in accordance with their best judgment.

How does the Board of Directors recommend that I vote?

OurThe Board of Directors unanimously recommends that you vote FOR the ordinary resolution to approve the Share Subdivision.vote:

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How do I vote?

Shareholders of Record

If you are a shareholder of record of our ordinary shares registered on our Hong Kong register or Cayman Islands register as of the record date, you may vote at the EGM, voteAnnual Meeting, by proxy through the Internet or vote by proxy using thea proxy card.card that you may request or that we may elect to deliver at a later time. Whether or not you plan to attend the EGM,Annual Meeting, we urge you to vote by proxy to help ensure your vote is counted. You may still attend the meeting and vote even if you have already voted by proxy.

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Beneficial Owners

If you are a beneficial owner of ordinary shares registered on the record date in the name of a brokerage firm, bank or other financial institution, you should have received information containing voting instructions from that organization rather than from us. Simply follow the voting instructions to help ensure that your vote is counted. To vote at the EGM,Annual Meeting, you must obtain a legal proxy or broker’s proxy card from your broker, bank or other agent. Follow the instructions from your broker or bank included with these proxy materials or contact your broker or bank to request a proxy form.

ADS Holders of Record of ADSs

Holders of record of our ADSsADS holders as of the ADS record date (4:30 p.m. (U.S. Eastern Time) on February 18,April 25, 2022) who wish to exercise their voting rights for the underlying ordinary shares must act through Citibank. The deposit agreement permits registered ADS holders of ADSs as of the ADS record date to instruct Citibank to exercise the voting rights for the ordinary shares represented by ADSs. Citibank has agreed that it will endeavor, insofar as practicable and permitted under applicable law and the provisions of the deposit agreement, to vote the securities (in person or by proxy) represented by the holder’s ADSs in accordance with such voting instructions as follows:

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Conversion of ADSs

If a holder of ADSs cancels his, her or its ADSs in exchange for ordinary shares on or prior to the ADS record date, such holder of ADSs will not be able to instruct Citibank, as depositary of the ADSs, as to how to vote the ordinary shares represented by the canceled ADSs as described above. Holders of ADSs who wish to cancel their ADSs in exchange for ordinary shares for the purpose of voting the ordinary shares directly will need to make arrangements to deliver their ADSs to Citibank, as depositary of the ADSs, for cancellation with sufficient time to allow for the completion of the delivery and, if applicable, the re-registration of the ordinary shares on our Company’s register of members in Hong Kong register prior to the ordinary share record date, together with (a) delivery instructions for the corresponding ordinary shares (including, if applicable, the name and address of person(s) who will be the registered holder of such ordinary shares) and (b) payment of the ADS depositary fees associated with such ADS cancellation (US$0.05 per ADS to be cancelled) and any applicable taxes. If ADSs are held in a brokerage firm, bank or other financial institution, please contact the broker, bank or other financial institution to find out what actions need to be taken to instruct the broker, bank or other financial institution to present the ADSs for cancellation. Please be aware that there are no guarantees of timely delivery or re-registration of ordinary shares prior to the record date due to the time differences between U.S. Eastern Time and Shanghai and Hong Kong Time, andas well as the time required to processfor processing the ADS cancellations, the delivery of our ordinary shares and, if applicable, the re-registration of our ordinary shares on the Company’s register of members in Hong Kong register.Kong.

What are “broker non-votes”?

A “broker non-vote” occurs when a U.S. brokerage firm, bank or other financial institution holding shares for a beneficial owner of ordinary shares does not vote the shares on a proposal because the U.S. brokerage firm, bank or other financial institution does not have discretionary voting power for a particular item and has not received instructions from the beneficial owner regarding voting.voting of their shares. U.S. brokerage firms, banks and other nominees who hold shares for the accounts of their clients have discretionary authority to vote shares if specific instructions are not given with respect to routine matters. Discretionary proxies exercised by U.S. brokerage firms, banks or other

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Your most current proxy card or Internet proxy is the one that is counted.

Will my shares be counted if I do not vote?

IfYour shares will not be voted at the Annual Meeting if you are the shareholder of record and you do not vote before the EGMAnnual Meeting by proxy card, or via the Internet, or during the EGMAnnual Meeting, in person or virtually via the Internet, your shares will not be voted at the EGM..

What if I return my proxy card but do not provide voting instructions?

Abstentions and broker non-votes will be counted for the purpose of determining the presence or absence of a quorum, but will not be counted for the purpose of determining the number of votes cast on a given proposal. If you return a signed and dated proxy card or otherwise vote without marking voting selections, your shares will be voted in accordance with the recommendations of ourthe Board of Directors set forth above.

What is the quorum requirement?

Pursuant to the Current Articles, the quorum required for a general meeting of shareholders consists of one or more shareholders holding not less than an aggregate of one-tenth of all voting share capital of the Company in

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When are shareholder proposals and director nominations due for the next year’s annual meeting?

The Cayman Islands Companies Act provides shareholders with only limited rights to requisition a general meeting and does not provide shareholders with a right to put any proposal before a general meeting. However, these rights may be provided in a company’s articles of association. The Current Articles allow our shareholders holding in aggregate not less than one-tenth of the share capital of the Company and entitled to vote at general meetings to requisition an extraordinary general meeting of our shareholders, in which case ourthe Board of Directors may duly convene an extraordinary general meeting and submit the resolutions put forward to a vote at such meeting. As a Cayman Islands exempted company, we are not obligated by law to call shareholders’ annual general meetings, however, under ourthe Current Articles, the Company shall hold an annual general meeting every year.

Shareholders may present proper proposals for inclusion in our proxy statement and for consideration at our next annual general meeting of shareholders by submitting their proposals in writing to us in a timely manner. In order to be considered for inclusion in the proxy statement for the 20222023 annual general meeting of shareholders, shareholder proposals must have beenbe received at our principal executive offices no later than December 31, 2021,2022, and must otherwise comply with the requirements of Rule 14a-8 of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).Act. If a shareholder wishes to propose a person for election as a director of the Company at our next annual general meeting, such shareholder must lodge a written notice at our principal place of business, with a copy forwarded to our registered office. The period for lodgment of such notice shall be a period commencing on the day after the dispatch of the notice of such meeting and ending on the earlier of (i) seven (7) days after the date of such notice or (ii) seven (7) days prior to the date of such meeting (or such other period, being not less than seven (7) days, commencing no earlier than the day of dispatch of the notice of such meeting and ending no later than seven (7) days prior to the date appointed for such meeting, as may be determined by the Board from time to time). Such written notice must include among other things,the background information

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PROPOSALPROPOSALS 1 TO 9

AS AN ORDINARY RESOLUTION, APPROVALELECTION OF THE SHARE SUBDIVISIONDIRECTORS

Description of the Proposal

PursuantThe Current Articles provide that unless otherwise determined by the Company in a general meeting, the authorized number of directors shall be not less than one or more than ten and each director shall be elected annually for terms expiring at the next annual meeting of the Company, at which he or she may be eligible for re-election, until his or her earlier death, resignation or removal. We are not subject to any contractual obligations regarding the election of our directors. Vacancies on the Board of Directors may be filled only by persons elected by a majority of the remaining directors. A director elected by the Board of Directors to fill a vacancy, including vacancies created by an increase in the number of directors, will serve for the remainder of the full term of that class and until the director’s successor is duly elected and qualified.

The Board of Directors presently has nine members, all of whom are up for re-election at the Annual Meeting. If elected at the Annual Meeting, each of these nominees would serve until the 2023 annual meeting and until his or her successor has been duly elected and qualified or, if sooner, until the director’s death, resignation or removal. Our policy is to encourage directors and nominees for director to attend our annual meetings. One of seven directors then in office attended the 2021 annual meeting.

The following table sets forth certain information as of April 1, 2022, with respect to our directors, all of whom are nominated for election by the Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting.

Biographical information for directors as of April 1, 2021 are set forth below:

Samantha (Ying) Du, Ph.D.

Experience

Dr. Du founded Zai Lab in 2014 and has been our CEO and Chairperson of the Board of Directors since its inception. Prior to founding Zai Lab, Dr. Du spent two years at Sequoia Capital China where she led four healthcare investments and served on the boards. From 2001 to 2011, Dr. Du co-founded Hutchison MediPharma and Hutchison China MediTech and served as their Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer, respectively, since their inception. Dr. Du began her research career with Pfizer in the United States from 1994 to 2001. She received her Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Cincinnati in 1994 and her bachelor’s degree in molecular biology from Jilin University, China in 1987.

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Skills and Qualifications

The Board of Directors believes that Dr. Du’s valuable knowledge with respect to the Company’sCompany as its founder and Chief Executive Officer, significant knowledge and experience with respect to the biotechnology, healthcare and pharmaceutical industries and her comprehensive global leadership background resulting from extensive service as an executive in the pharmaceutical industry position her to make valuable contributions to the Board.

Richard Gaynor, M.D.

Experience

Dr. Gaynor has been our independent Director since November 2021 and currently serves as the Chairman of our Research and Development Committee. Dr. Gaynor is the President and Chief of Research and Development of BioNTech US. Prior to this, he was President, Research and Development, at Neon Therapeutics, beginning in 2016. Previously, Dr. Gaynor spent 15 years in senior roles at Lilly Oncology, including as Senior Vice President, Clinical Development and Medical Affairs. He chaired the Lilly Oncology Research and Development Committee and helped oversee collaborations with such companies as Bristol Myers Squibb, Merck, AstraZeneca and GE Healthcare. Dr. Gaynor also led preclinical and early clinical oncology research at Lilly. Dr. Gaynor holds an M.D. from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, where he served a residency in internal medicine. He completed fellowship training in hematology-oncology at the UCLA School of Medicine, where he spent nine years on the faculty. He then served for 11 years on the faculty at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, including as the Chief of Hematology-Oncology and Director of the Simmons Cancer Center. He is the author of nearly 150 publications. Dr. Gaynor participates on numerous advisory boards and committees, including currently serving as a Director of Alkermes, Infinity Pharmaceuticals and the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation.

Skills and Qualifications

The Board of Directors believes that Dr. Gaynor’s deep experience as an oncologist and his expertise in research and development position him to make valuable contributions to the Board.

Kai-Xian Chen, Ph.D.

Experience

Professor Chen has been our independent Director since August 2018. Professor Chen has been serving as the independent non-executive Director of InnoCare Pharma Limited since March 2020. He has also been serving as the independent Director of Jiangsu Kanion Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. since December 2019 and the independent non-executive Director of Innovent Biologics, Inc. since October 2018. From 2007 to 2017, he served as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. From 2005 to 2014, Professor Chen served as President of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. From 2011 to 2018, Professor Chen served as President of the Shanghai Association for Science and Technology. Prior to that, from 1993 to 2004, Professor Chen served as Deputy Director and later, Director of Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica (“SIMM”) Chinese Academy of Sciences. Professor Chen has also served as Principal Scientist for two National Basic Research Programs by the MOST. Since 2001, Professor Chen has served successively as the member of the Chief Specialists Board and the Deputy Chief Technical Officer of the major science and technology projects “innovative drugs and modernization of traditional Chinese medicine” and “Innovative Drug Research & Development,” where he participated in the organization and promotion of new drug research and development for China’s 10th -13th Five Year Plans. In 1999, Professor Chen was elected as a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Prior to that, from 1985 to 1988, he conducted postdoctoral research at Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique in Paris. Professor Chen started his academic career at SIMM as an Associate Professor, where he later reached the level of Full Professor. Professor Chen received his Master and Ph.D. degree at the Chinese Academy of Science in 1982 and 1985 respectively and his Bachelor of Science from Fudan University in 1967.

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Skills and Qualifications

The Board of Directors believes that Professor Chen’s service as a member of several prestigious Chinese institutional and research organizations, in addition to his service as an independent director for biopharmaceutical companies, position him to make valuable contributions to the Board.

John D. Diekman, Ph.D.

Experience

Dr. Diekman has been our independent Director since 2017 and currently serves as the Chairman of our Audit Committee. Dr. Diekman is founding partner of 5AM Ventures, where he has served since 2002. He is director of Cleave Therapeutics, Inc., a cancer therapeutic company; and Wildcat Discovery Technologies, Inc., a technology company that discovers materials for energy storage applications; charter trustee of Princeton University; chairman of the board of directors of The Scripps Research Institute; and a member of the advisory board of the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics at the University of Southern California. During the last five years, Dr. Diekman served as the Chairman and Director of IDEAYA Biosciences from 2015 to June 2020. Dr. Diekman holds an A.B. in Organic Chemistry from Princeton University in 1965 and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Stanford University in 1969.

Skills and Qualifications

The Board of Directors believes that Dr. Diekman’s expertise, perspective and experience as a founder and director at oncology-focused companies as well as his expertise in life sciences and venture capital industries, position him to make valuable contributions to the Board.

Nisa Leung

Experience

Nisa Leung has been our Director since 2014 and independent director since July 2020. Ms. Leung is a Managing Partner at Qiming Venture Partners, where she leads its healthcare investments. In addition to serving on the Board of Directors, Ms. Leung is also a member of the board of directors of CanSino Biologics Inc., a vaccine developer; dMed, a Shanghai-based CRO consulting startup; and Venus Medtech, a developer of interventional artificial cardiac valve systems. Ms. Leung received a Master of Business Administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in June 2001 and a B.S. in Hotel Administration from Cornell University in 1992.

Skills and Qualifications

The Board of Directors believes that Ms. Leung’s venture capital and consulting experience in the healthcare industry, position her to make valuable contributions to the Board.

William Lis

Experience

Mr. Lis has been our independent Director since October 2018. He has 30 years of biopharmaceutical experience. He is the Chairman after serving as CEO of Jasper Therapeutics, Inc. where he led the company’s 2019 Series A financing, initial public offering and pipeline development from 2019 until 2022. Previously, Mr. Lis served as Chief Executive Officer and a Director of Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from 2009 until 2018 after serving as Chief Operating Officer. Under his leadership, Portola successfully grew from a discovery-stage company to a fully integrated research and development and commercial organization, and independently discovered and developed Andexxa^®, Bevyxxa^® and cerdulatinib. He led the initial public offering in 2013 and grew Portola into

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a multi-billion dollar valuation company during his tenure. Portola was acquired by Alexion in 2020. Mr. Lis held executive positions at Scios, Inc. (a Johnson & Johnson company) where he last served as Sr. Vice President of New Product Development and Business Development, having led in-licensing efforts, development and the commercial operations for Xarelto^®; He also held positions of increasing responsibility at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (previously COR Therapeutics, Inc.) and Rhone Poulenc Rorer in sales, marketing, medical affairs and business development. he was involved in the commercial launch of Integrilin^®, Lovenox^®, Velcade^® and Rilutek^®. Mr. Lis served as a member of the Bio Board of Directors for Emerging Companies and as an independent Director of Eidos Therapeutics, Inc (Nasdaq: EIDX), acquired by Bridge Bio. Mr. Lis holds a B.S. from the University of Maryland.

Skills and Qualifications

The Board of Directors believes that Mr. Lis’ extensive leadership and financial experience in the biopharmaceutical industry position him to make valuable contributions to the Board.

Leon O. Moulder, Jr.

Experience

Mr. Moulder has been our independent Director since January 2020 and currently serves as the Chairman of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Mr. Moulder is the Managing Member of Tellus BioVentures, LLC, an early-stage life sciences investment fund. He most recently served as Chief Executive Officer and Director of Tesaro, Inc. since cofounding the company in 2010. Acquired by GSK in January 2019, Tesaro was a fully-integrated Boston based oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company with operations in North America and Europe. He previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Abraxis BioScience, Inc., prior to the company’s eventual acquisition by Celgene Corporation in 2010. Prior to that, from 2008, Mr. Moulder served as Vice Chairman of Eisai Corporation of North America following Eisai’s acquisition of MGI PHARMA, where he served as President and Chief Executive Officer beginning in 2003 and previously as Executive Vice President since 1999. This followed him serving as a member of the founding management team of a venture-stage biotech company in 1997. Mr. Moulder began his career as a clinical pharmacist followed by a seventeen-year career at predecessor companies of Sanofi, beginning with Marion Laboratories in 1981. Mr. Moulder is a Temple University Trustee, Chairman of the Trustee Committee for Research, Chairman of the Temple University Japan (TESS) Board and serves on the board of the Fox Chase Cancer Center. He is a Council Member for both the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Mr. Moulder serves on the board of the Helsinn Group, is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Trevena, Inc. and previously served on the Boards of Cubist Pharmaceuticals and the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). Mr. Moulder received a Pharmacy degree from Temple University in 1980 and an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 1997.

Skills and Qualifications

The Board of Directors believes that Mr. Moulder’s significant operational and senior management experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, as well as his extensive experience as a director on public and private boards in the industry, position him to make valuable contributions to the Board.

Peter Wirth

Experience

Mr. Wirthhas been our Director since 2017, and independent Director since May 2020 and currently serves as the Chairman of the Compensation Committee. He is a venture partner at Quan Capital Management, LLC, a global venture capital firm; chairman of the board of directors of FORMA Therapeutics, a Nasdaq-listed clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for patients with rare hematological diseases

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and cancer; and chairman of the board of directors at Syros Pharmaceuticals, a Nasdaq-listed clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for patients with leukemia and select solid tumors. From 2011 to 2014, Mr. Wirth served as Founder, President and Director of Lysosomal Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on small molecule research and development in the field of neurodegeneration. From 1996 to 2011, Mr. Wirth served as a senior executive at Genzyme, which is now part of Sanofi, and most recently as its Executive Vice President of legal and corporate development, Chief Risk Officer and corporate secretary. Mr. Wirth received a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1972 and a JD from Harvard Law School in 1975.

Skills and Qualifications

The Board of Directors believes that Mr. Wirth’s expertise in corporate governance and his experience in corporate strategy, product development, business development and legal issues confronting the biotechnology industry position him to make valuable contributions to the Board.

Scott Morrison

Experience

Mr. Morrison has been our independent Director since October 2021. He has served public and private companies in the life sciences industry since 1980. He was a Partner with Ernst & Young LLP from 1996 to December 2015, serving as its U.S. Life Sciences Leader from 2002 to December 2015. During his tenure at EY he worked on hundreds of public and private financings, M&A transactions and corporate collaborations. Mr. Morrison retired in December 2015 and now serves on the boards and chairs the Audit Committees of Audentes, Inc. (through its sale to Astellas in January 2020), Corvus Pharmaceuticals, Global Blood Therapeutics, IDEAYA Biosciences and Vera Therapeutics. He also serves as a member of the Compensation Committee for GBT and Corvus and is a member of the GBT’s Commercial Committee. Mr. Morrison has also served as a director on several life sciences industry boards including the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) ECS board, the Bay Area Biosciences Board (now CLSA), the Life Sciences Foundation and the Biotechnology Institute. Mr. Morrison was awarded the CLSA Pantheon 2016 Life Sciences Leadership Award. Mr. Morrison holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the Haas School at University of California, Berkeley and is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive).

Skills and Qualifications

The Board of Directors believes that Mr. Morrison’s positions on other boards, experience in the life science industry and financial expertise position him to make valuable contributions to the Board.

Vote Required

Each director nominated for election will be elected if a simple majority of the votes cast by the shareholders entitled to vote who are present in person or by proxy vote in favor of such director. Broker non-votes and abstentions with respect to one or more directors will not be treated as votes cast for this purpose and, therefore, will not affect the outcome of the election.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS THAT SHAREHOLDERS VOTE “FOR” THE ELECTION OF EACH OF THE DIRECTOR NOMINEES LISTED ABOVE.

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PROPOSAL 10

ADOPTION OF THE SIXTH AMENDED AND RESTATED MEMORANDUM AND ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION, CONDITIONED AND EFFECTIVE UPON THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE COMPANY’S CONVERSION TO DUAL-PRIMARY LISTING ON THE HKEX

Description of the Proposal

General

The Board of Directors has approved, declared advisable and is recommending that our shareholders approve the Sixth Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company (the “Sixth Articles”) to replace the Fifth Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (“Current(the “Current Articles”), the authorized share capital of the Company is US$30,000.00 divided into 500,000,000 shares with a par value of US$0.00006 each.

The Board has approved and is recommending to shareholders for approval at the EGM, a resolution to approve a share subdivision whereby, with effect from March 30, 2022 (the “Effective Date”),Annual Meeting, conditioned on and subject to and conditional upon the Listing Committee (the “Listing Committee”)Company’s conversion to dual primary listing status on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the “Hong Kong Stock Exchange”“HKEx”) granting, to reflect changes required or recommended by the HKEx in connection with the Company’s conversion to dual primary listing status on the HKEx and the recent share subdivision approved by shareholders in March 2022. Details of the proposed amendments to the Current Articles are set out below. The following discussion is qualified in its entirety by reference to the proposed Sixth Articles, a copy of which is attached to this Proxy Statement as Appendix A and is incorporated herein by reference. Appendix A is marked to show the proposed changes that would be made.

Background

The Board of Directors approved a preliminary proposal for the dual-primary listing of the Company’s ordinary shares on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited and permissionthe Nasdaq Stock Market. In order to dealcomply with the HK Listing Rules as described in (i)this Proxy Statement, the Subdivided Ordinary SharesCompany has proposed to amend certain provisions of the Current Articles to reflect changes required or recommended by the HKEx in connection with the Company’s conversion to dual primary listing status on the HKEx and the share subdivision.

The Current Articles are available on the websites of the Company (www.zailaboratory.com) and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (www.hkexnews.hk).

Description and Purpose of the Restated Articles

Special Resolution – Article 1

If this proposal is approved, the Current Articles will be amended and restated to vary the definition of a Special Resolution to specifically make reference to, and include, instances flagged in the Sixth Articles that require the increased voting threshold (from two-thirds to three-fourths of the votes cast on a proposal) of a “Super-Majority Resolution” (as defined below). This proposed amendment is made in compliance with the Companies Act (Revised) of the Cayman Islands, which provides at Section 60(1)(a) that a company may in its articles of association specify that the required majority shall be a number greater than two-thirds, and may additionally so provide that any such majority (being not less than two-thirds) may differ as between matters required to be approved by a special resolution.

Variation of Rights Attaching to Shares – Article 23

If this Proposal is approved, the Current Articles will be amended and restated to increase the voting threshold for the variation of rights attaching to any class or series of shares by written consent from two-thirds of the issued shares to three-fourths of the voting rights of the holders of that class or series, and that such variation of rights can also be approved by a not less than three-fourth of our shareholders (“Super-Majority Resolution”), (ii)who, as being entitled to do so, vote at a general meeting, the quorum of which is not less than an aggregate of one-third of the issued shares of the relevant class. This proposed amendment is made in compliance with

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paragraph 15 of Appendix 3 of the HK Listing Rules, which provides that a super-majority vote of the issuer’s members of the class to which the rights are attached shall be required to approve a change to those rights. For the purpose of this HK Listing Rule, a “super-majority vote” means at least three-fourths of the voting rights of the members holding shares in that class present and voting in person or by proxy at a separate general meeting of members of the class where the quorum for such meeting shall be holders of at least one third of the issued shares of the class.

Quorum – Article 24(b)

If this Proposal is approved, the Current Articles will be amended and restated to increase the necessary quorum to hold a general meeting of holders of one class or series of shares or to demand a poll at such a general meeting from one or more persons holding or representing at least one-tenth of the issued shares of that class or series to one or more persons holding or representing at least one-third of the issued shares of that class or series. This proposed amendment is made in compliance with paragraph 15 of Appendix 3 of the HK Listing Rules, which provides that a super-majority vote of the issuer’s members of the class to which the rights are attached shall be required to approve a change to those rights and which a quorum for such meeting shall be holders of at least one third of the issued shares of that class.

Shareholder Right to Speak at General Meeting – Articles 52-54, 58, 71

If this Proposal is approved, the Current Articles will be amended and restated to explicitly specify that each shareholder of the Company entitled to attend or vote at a general meeting shall also have to right to speak at the general meeting. This proposed amendment is made in compliance with paragraph 14(3) of Appendix 3 of the HK Listing Rules, which provides that members must have the right to speak at a general meeting; and vote at a general meeting except where a member is required, by the HK Listing Rules, to abstain from voting to approve the matter under consideration.

General Meetings – Article 56(a)

If this Proposal is approved, the Current Articles will be amended and restated to provide that the annual general meeting of the Company shall occur within 6 months after the end of the Company’s financial year (or such longer period as the relevant stock exchange may authorize). This proposed amendment is made in compliance with paragraph 14(1) of the HK Listing Rules, which provides that an issuer must hold a general meeting for each financial year as its annual general meeting and generally, an issuer must hold its annual general meeting within six months after the end of its financial year.

Notice of General Meetings – Article 58

If this Proposal is approved, the Current Articles will be amended and restated to provide that the notice period for any Subdivided Ordinary Sharesextraordinary general meeting of the Company will be at least 14 calendar days and the notice period for any annual general meeting of the Company will be at least 21 calendar days. This proposed amendment is made in compliance with Rule 14(2) of the HK Listing Rules.

Clearing Houses – Article 81A

If this Proposal is approved, the Current Articles will be amended and restated to provide that the Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company Limited (“HKSCC”) will be entitled to appoint proxies or corporate representatives to attend the Company’s general meetings and creditors meetings and such proxies or corporate representatives will enjoy rights equivalent to the rights of other shareholders of the Company, and that, where applicable law prohibits HKSCC form appointing proxies or corporate representatives, the Company will use its best efforts to make necessary arrangements with HKSCC to ensure that Hong Kong investors holding shares through HKSCC enjoy the right to vote, attend and speak at general meetings. This proposed amendment is made in compliance

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with paragraph 19 of Appendix 3 of the HK Listing Rules, which provides that HKSCC must be entitled to appoint proxies or corporate representatives to attend the issuer’s general meetings and creditors meetings and those proxies/    corporate representatives must enjoy rights equivalent to the rights of other shareholders, including the right to speak and vote.

Directors – Article 82(d)

If this Proposal is approved, the Current Articles will be amended and restated to specify within this Article that directors appointed by ordinary resolution to fill a casual vacancy on the board or as an addition to the existing board will hold office until the first annual general meeting of the Company after his appointment and will then be eligible for re-election at that meeting. This proposed amendment is made in compliance with paragraph 4(2) of Appendix 3 of the HK Listing Rules, which provides that any person appointed by the directors to fill a casual vacancy on or as an addition to the board shall hold office only until the first annual general meeting of the issuer after his appointment, and shall then be eligible for re-election.

Proceedings of Directors – Article 103(a)

If this Proposal is approved, the Current Articles will be amended and restated to provide that at least 14 calendar days’ notice shall be given to all directors and their respective alternates for regular board meetings. This proposed amendment is made in compliance with Code Provision C.5.3 of Appendix 14 of the HK Listing Rules, which provides that notice of at least 14 days should be given of a regular board meeting to give all directors an opportunity to attend. For all other board meetings, reasonable notice should be given.

Proceedings of Directors – Article 108

If this Proposal is approved, the Current Articles will be amended and restated to specify that a Director’s vote with respect to any matter that he may be issued upon exerciseinterested in shall be subject to the relevant rules of the outstanding share options granted bydesignated stock exchange.

Audit – Article 134

If this Proposal is approved, the Current Articles will be amended and restated to provide that the appointment and removal of an auditor of the Company or any Subdivided Ordinary Shares which mayshall be issued upon vestingapproved by a majority of the share awards under the equity incentive plan adopted by the shareholders of the Company on August 21, 2015 (as amended on February 3, 2016or other body that is independent of the Board of Directors in accordance with the HK Listing Rules, that the removal of an auditor of the Company before the expiration of its period of office shall require the approval of an ordinary resolution, and April 10, 2016) (the “2015 Equity Plan”) and underthat the equity incentive plan adoptedremuneration of the auditor of the Company shall be approved by a majority of the shareholders of the Company or other body that is independent of the Board. This proposed amendment is made in compliance with paragraph 17 of Appendix 3 of the HK Listing Rules, which provides that the appointment, removal and remuneration of auditors must be approved by a majority of the issuer’s members or other body that is independent of the board of directors.

Information – Article 150

If this Proposal is approved, the Current Articles will be amended and restated to provide that any branch Register of Members maintained in Hong Kong shall be open for inspection by a shareholder of the Company without charge, and shall be open to such other persons on Augustpayment of a fee as the Board may determine, subject to certain limitations, and that the Company may be permitted to close the branch Register of Members on terms equivalent to Section 632 of Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622 of the Laws of Hong Kong). This proposed amendment is made in compliance with paragraph 20 of the HK Listing Rules, which provides that the branch register of members in Hong Kong shall be open for inspection by members but the issuer may be permitted to close the register on terms equivalent to section 632 of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622 of the Laws of Hong Kong).

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Winding Up – Article 155

If this Proposal is approved, the Current Articles will be amended and restated to provide that the Company may be wound up voluntarily if the shareholders of the Company at any general meeting so resolve by Super-Majority Resolution. This proposed amendment is made in compliance with paragraph 21 of Appendix 3 of the HK Listing Rules, which provides that a super-majority vote of the issuer’s members in a general meeting shall be required to approve a voluntary winding up of an issuer.

Amendment to Memorandum and Articles – Article 155

If this Proposal is approved, the Current Articles will be amended and restated to provide that the Company’s memorandum of association and articles of association may be altered or amended, or the name of the Company may be changed, if the shareholders of the Company at any general meeting so resolve by Super-Majority Resolution. This proposed amendment is made in compliance with paragraph 16 of Appendix 3 of the HK Listing Rules, which provides that a super-majority vote of the issuer’s members in a general meeting shall be required to approve changes to an issuer’s constitutional documents. For the purpose of this HK Listing Rule, a “super-majority vote” means at least three-fourth of the voting rights of the members present and voting in person or by proxy at the general meeting.

General Effects of the Restated Articles

If the shareholders of the Company approve the Sixth Articles, the Sixth Articles will become effective upon the effective date of the Company’s conversion to dual-primary listing on the HKEx, and will thereafter be filed with the Cayman Islands Registrar of Companies.

Vote Required

This Proposal requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the votes cast by the shareholders entitled to vote who are present in person, virtually or by proxy at the Annual Meeting. Abstentions and broker non-votes will have no effect on this vote.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS THAT SHAREHOLDERS VOTE “FOR” THE ADOPTION OF THE SIXTH ARTICLES, CONDITIONED AND EFFECTIVE UPON THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE COMPANY’S CONVERSION TO DUAL-PRIMARY LISTING ON THE HKEX.

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PROPOSAL 11

APPROVAL OF THE ZAI LAB LIMITED 2022 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN, CONDITIONED ON AND SUBJECT TO THE DUAL-PRIMARY LISTING OF THE COMPANY ON THE MAIN BOARD OF THE STOCK EXCHANGE OF HONG KONG LIMITED BECOMING EFFECTIVE

Description of the Proposal

Overview

On April 20, 2022 (U.S. Eastern Time), the Board of Directors approved the Zai Lab Limited 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2022 Plan”), conditioned on and subject to the dual-primary listing of the Company on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited becoming effective and shareholder approval. The 2022 Plan is intended to replace the Zai Lab Limited 2017 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2017 Plan”) and is substantially similar to the 2017 Plan, but reflects changes (i) to increase the number of shares reserved for issuance under our equity incentive plans, (ii) required or recommended by the HKEx in connection with the Company’s conversion to dual primary listing status on the HKEx, (iii) in connection with the recent share subdivision approved by the Company’s shareholders and effected as of March 30, 2022 and (iv) in connection with updates to Internal Revenue Code (as defined below). At the time our Board approved the 2022 Plan, the Board determined that, if the 2022 Plan were approved by the shareholders and becomes effective following the dual-primary listing of the Company on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited becoming effective, no new grants would be made under the 2017 Plan. Awards already granted under the 2017 Plan or the Zai Lab Limited 2015 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan (the “2015 Plan”), will remain in full force and (iii) any Subdivided Ordinary Shares which mayeffect pursuant to the terms and conditions of the 2017 Plan and 2015 Plan, respectively, as if the 2017 Plan and 2015 Plan had not been amended or terminated.

Similar to the 2017 Plan, the 2022 Plan was designed to enhance the flexibility of the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors in granting share options and other awards to our (and our subsidiaries’) officers, employees, non-employee directors and consultants and to allow us to continue to grant share options and other awards to such persons at levels determined to be appropriate by our Compensation Committee. The Board of Directors believes that share options and other share-based incentive awards play an important role in our success by encouraging and enabling our (and our subsidiaries’) employees, officers, non-employee directors and consultants upon whose judgement, initiative and efforts we largely depend for the successful conduct of our business. The Board of Directors anticipates that providing such persons with a direct equity stake in our Company will result in a closer alignment of the interests of such individuals with those of our Company and our shareholders, thereby stimulating their efforts on our behalf and strengthening their desire to remain with our Company.

If the 2022 Plan is approved by our shareholders, the Company will make an application to the HKEx for the listing of the additional shares that will be issued uponunder the exercise2022 Plan. If the 2022 Plan is not approved by our shareholders or if the dual-primary listing of the Company on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited does not become effective, share options or any Subdivided Ordinary Shares which may be issued upon vesting of the shareand other awards will continue to be granted from time to time under the 2015 Equity2017 Plan .

Key Features of the 2022 Plan

While the Board of Directors is aware of and has considered the potential dilutive effect of additional awards and option grants, it also recognizes the performance and motivational benefits of equity compensation and believes that the 2022 Plan is consistent with our executive compensation philosophy and the 2017 Equitycompensatory practices of other biotechnology companies in our peer group. The 2022 Plan (a) each issuedcontains a number of features that are designed to serve our shareholders’ interests and unissued Ordinary Share with a par value of US$0.00006 each (the “Existing Ordinary Share(s)” or “Ordinary Share(s)”) in the capital of the Company will be subdivided into ten Ordinary Shares with a par value of US$0.000006 each (the “Subdivided Ordinary Shares”), and (b) the authorized share capital of the Company will be amended:

FROM: US$30,000.00 divided into 500,000,000 shares with a par value of US$0.00006 each;

TO: US$30,000.00 divided into 5,000,000,000 with a par value of US$0.000006 each (the “Share Subdivision”).

Conditions of the Share Subdivision

The Share Subdivision is conditional on:to reflect corporate governance best practices, including:

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This summary is subject to the specific provisions contained in the full text of the 2022 Plan set forth in Appendix B to this Proxy Statement.

Other Features of the 2022 Plan

The 2022 Plan provides us with flexibility to issue various equity-based incentive awards, as described below, to motivate and retain our workforce. The ordinary shares we issue pursuant to awards granted under the 2022 Plan are authorized but unissued ordinary shares or ordinary shares that we reacquire.

The 2022 Plan is administered by the Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee has full power to select, from among the individuals eligible for awards, the individuals to whom awards will be granted, to make any combination of awards to these selected individuals, and to determine the specific terms and conditions of each award, subject to the provisions of the 2022 Plan. Employees, directors and consultants as selected from time to time by the Compensation Committee are eligible to participate in the 2022 Plan. As of April 1, 2022, 8 non-employee directors and approximately 1999 employees and 30 consultants would be eligible to participate in the 2022 Plan. The Compensation Committee may delegate to the chairman of the Compensation Committee all or part of the Compensation Committee’s authority and duties with respect to granting awards and to our chief executive officer or chief financial officer the authority to grant awards to employees who are not subject to the reporting and other provisions of Section 16 of the Exchange Act.

Under the 2022 Plan, the Compensation Committee may award share options, share appreciation rights, restricted shares, restricted share units, performance-based awards, unrestricted shares, dividend equivalent rights, and cash-based awards subject to such conditions and restrictions as it may determine. The Compensation Committee may also grant dividend equivalent rights that entitle the recipient to receive credits for dividends that would be paid if the recipient held a specified number of ordinary shares.

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Effect of the Share Subdivision on Authorized Share Capital of the Company

Immediately followingThe 2022 Plan provides that, upon the effectiveness, of a “covered transaction,” as defined in the Share Subdivision,2022 Plan, the authorizedsuccessor entity may assume, continue or substitute for outstanding awards, as appropriately adjusted. To the extent that awards are not assumed, continued or substituted by the successor entity, all awards requiring exercise granted under the 2022 Plan may become exercisable, and the delivery of any shares remaining deliverable under any outstanding award of share capitalunits (including restricted share units and performance awards) may be accelerated.

The Board of Directors and the Compensation Committee may amend the 2022 Plan or any outstanding award granted under the 2022 Plan and may terminate the 2022 Plan as to any future grants of awards; provided, however, it may not, without the holder’s consent, alter the terms of an award so as to affect materially and adversely the holder’s rights under the award. Notwithstanding the foregoing, under the terms of the Company2022 Plan, the Compensation Committee or the Board of Directors may at any time cancel outstanding options that have been granted but not yet exercised. Any amendments to the 2022 Plan will be US$30,000.00 divided into 5,000,000,000 Subdivided Ordinary Shares,conditioned upon shareholder approval only to the extent, if any, such approval is required by applicable laws (including the specific provisions of the 2022 Plan which 964,087,430 Subdividedrelate to the matters set out in Rule 17.03 of the HK Listing Rules). In the event the 2022 Plan is terminated while any share option remains outstanding and unexercised, the provisions of the 2022 Plan shall remain in full force to the extent necessary to give effect to the exercise of any such share option.

This summary is subject to the specific provisions contained in the full text of the 2022 Plan set forth in Appendix B to this Proxy Statement.

Information Regarding Our Equity Incentive Program

The following table provides certain additional information regarding our equity incentive program.

Rationale for Share Increase

Our 2017 Plan provides for an automatic annual increase to the number of shares reserved under the 2017 Plan between January 1, 2018 and January 1, 2027 equal to the lesser of 4% of the number of shares outstanding as of the close of business on the immediately prior December 31^st or such number as approved by the Board on or

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Ordinary Sharesprior to such date each year. The 2022 Plan does not include an “evergreen” feature and there will not be an automatic increase in issuethe number of shares reserved on January 1, 2023 or in future years. The aggregate number of shares reserved and fully paid or creditedavailable for issuance under our 2017 Plan as fully paid, assuming that no further Ordinary Shares will be issued or repurchased afterof April 1, 2022 was 75,562,170. The aggregate number of 97,908,743 shares contemplated by the 2022 Plan reflects an increase of 22,346,573 shares reserved and available for issuance, which is equal to approximately 2.2% of the Company’s total shares outstanding as of the date hereof. Given our increased headcount and our continued efforts to motivate and retain our existing employees and to develop and commercialize our product portfolio, which will require further expansion of this Proxy Statementour organizational structure, we believe the share increase contemplated by the 2022 Plan is critical to our ongoing effort to build shareholder value.

Equity incentive awards are an important component of our executive and priornon-executive employee compensation. Our equity incentive program is broad-based, and we grant awards to a majority of our employees. By doing so, we link the interests of employees throughout the organization to the Share Subdivision becoming effective. Upon the Effective Date, the Subdivided Ordinary Shares shall rank pari passu in all respects with each other in accordance with the Current Articlesinterests of our shareholders and motivate our employees to act as owners of the Companybusiness. Our Compensation Committee and shall haveBoard of Directors believe that we must continue to offer a competitive equity compensation program in order to attract, retain and motivate the same rightstalented and privilegesqualified employees necessary for our continued growth and be subjectsuccess.

We attempt to manage our long-term shareholder dilution by limiting the same restrictions asnumber of equity incentive awards we grant annually. The Compensation Committee carefully monitors our annual burn rate, total dilution, and equity expense in order to maximize shareholder value by granting only the Existing Ordinary Shares in issue priorappropriate number of equity incentive awards that it believes is necessary to attract, reward, and retain employees.

As of April 25, 2022, the Share Subdivision, and the Share Subdivision will not result in any change in the relevant rights of the holders of the Ordinary Shares (the “Shareholders”).

Effect of the Share Subdivision on ADS Ratio Change

Each American Depositary Share (“ADS”) of the Company currently represents the right to receive one fully paid Ordinary Share. In connection with the Share Subdivision, the Board resolved that, subject to and conditional upon the Share Subdivision becoming effective, the conversion ratio of ADSs to Ordinary Share(s) will change from one (1) ADS representing one (1) Existing Ordinary Share to a new ratio of one (1) ADS representing ten (10) Subdivided Ordinary Shares (the “ADS Ratio Change”). The ADS Ratio Change and the Share Subdivision, if approved, will take effect on the same date. No action is required by the Company’s ADS holders to effect the ADS Ratio Change (other than to vote to approve the Share Subdivision proposal at the EGM).

Because the ADS Ratio Change is proportionate to the Share Subdivision, no issuance, cancellation or exchange of ADSs will be necessary or carried out in connection with the ADS Ratio Change and Share Subdivision. In addition, because the Share Subdivision and ADS Ratio Change are exactly proportionate, the ADS Ratio Change, in and of itself, is neutral in its impact on the per-ADS tradingclosing price of our ADSs on Nasdaq was US$[●]. Based solely on this and the Nasdaq,maximum number of ordinary shares that would have been available for future awards under the 2022 Plan as of such date, the percentage interest in our Company representedmaximum aggregate market value of the ordinary shares that could potentially be issued under the 2022 Plan is US$[●]. The ordinary shares underlying any awards under the 2022 Plan that are forfeited, cancelled, held back upon exercise or settlement to satisfy the exercise price or tax withholding, reacquired prior to vesting, or are otherwise terminated (other than by each ADSexercise) will not be altered. The Share Subdivisionadded back to the ordinary shares available for issuance under the 2022 Plan.

We anticipate that, if the 2022 Plan is approved and ADS Ratio Change will not result in the issuance of any ADSs or any change inbecomes effective, the number of ADSs held by any ADS holder.

In addition,shares available for grant under the 2022 Plan upon adoption should be sufficient to facilitateprovide equity incentives to attract, retain, and motivate our employees through at least the ADS Ratio Change,end of 2024, although it is possible that we will exhaust the books of the Depositary are expectedshare pool sooner if we expand our workforce to be closed for ADS issuances and ADS cancellations from March 23, 2022 (as of 4:30 p.m. Hong Kong Time for ADS issuance and 4:30 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time for ADS cancellations), or such later date as the Depositary may determine and announce, through and including March 31, 2022 (as of 4:30 p.m. Hong Kong Time for ADS issuance and 4:30 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time for ADS cancellations). This temporary closure will not affect an ADS holder’s ability to trade ADSs on the Nasdaq or otherwise transfer ADSs during that time. A separate announcement will be made by the Citibank confirming the ADS books closure period for ADS issuances and ADS cancellations.

Effect of the Share Subdivision on Board Lot Size

The Existing Ordinary Shares aresupport our growing business at a rate higher than we currently traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in a board lot size of 50 Existing Ordinary Shares each. The Board has resolved that, subject to and conditional upon the Share Subdivision becoming effective, the board lot size to be traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will be changed from 50 Existing Ordinary Shares to 100 Subdivided Ordinary Shares (the “Change of Board Lot Size”). The Change of Board Lot Size will not affect any of the relative rights of the Shareholders. There will be a temporary counter open for trading in temporary board lot of 500 Subdivided Ordinary Shares (in the form of Existing Ordinary Share certificates) between 9 a.m. (Hong Kong Time) on Wednesday, March 30, 2022 and 4:10 p.m. (Hong Kong Time) on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.

The reason for the Change of Board Lot Size is to ensure the Company’s compliance with the board lot value being more than HK$2,000.00 as set out in the Guide on Trading Arrangements for Selected Types of Corporate Actions issued by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on November 28, 2008 and updated on October 1, 2020. As of February 11, 2022, the market value per board lot of 50 Existing Ordinary Shares for trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is approximately HK$20,620. Based on the closing price of HK$412.4 per Ordinary Share on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as of February 11, 2022, the expected value per new board lot of 100 Subdivided Ordinary Shares would be approximately HK$4,124 immediately upon the Share Subdivision and the Change ofexpect.

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Board Lot Size becoming effective. Therefore,NEW PLAN BENEFITS

Future awards under the Board considers that a board lot value of HK$4,124 on2022 Plan will be granted at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange would be commercially beneficial to the holders of our ordinary shares and potential investors as a whole. The Share Subdivision and the Change of Board Lot Size will not result in odd lots or fractional shares.

Effectdiscretion of the Share Subdivision onCompensation Committee, and, therefore, the 2015 Equity Plan and the 2017 Equity Plan

As of February 11, 2022, the Company had an aggregate of 9,122,341 outstanding share options, restricted share unitstypes, numbers, recipients, and other equity incentiveterms of such awards (the “Awards”) granted under the 2015 Equity Plan and the 2017 Equity Plan to subscribe for an aggregate of up to 9,122,341 Ordinary Shares. The Board has resolved that, subject to and conditional upon the Share Subdivision becoming effective, proportional adjustments willcannot be made to number of Ordinary Shares reserved for issuance under the Company’s 2015 Equity Plan and the 2017 Equity Plan, the exercise price of each Award, as applicable, and the number of Ordinary Shares underlying each outstanding Awards. The Company will inform each of the grantees of the Awardsdetermined at this time. Information regarding the adjustments to be made pursuant to the respective terms and conditions of the 2015 Equity Plan and the 2017 Equity Plan in accordance with the terms and conditions, and its obligations under, the 2015 Equity Plan and the 2017 Equity Plan, as applicable.

Save as disclosed above, the Company has no other outstanding share options or convertible securities to subscribe for any Ordinary Share.

Reasons for the Proposed Share Subdivision and Change of Board Lot Size

The proposed Share Subdivision will increase the number of Ordinary Shares in issue and reduce the nominal value and trading price of each Ordinary Share. The Board believes that this will increase the trading liquidity of the Ordinary Share, lower the investment barrier, and will attract more investors to trade in the Ordinary Shares.

As mentioned above, the reason for the Change of Board Lot Size is to ensure the Company’s compliance with the board lot value being more than HK$2,000.00 as set out in the Guide on Trading Arrangements for Selected Types of Corporate Actions issued by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on November 28, 2008 and updated on October 1, 2020. As of February 11, 2022, the market value per board lot of 50 Existing Ordinary Shares for trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is approximately HK$20,620. Based on the closing price of HK$412.4 per Ordinary Share on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as of February 11, 2022, the expected value per new board lot of 100 Subdivided Ordinary Shares would be approximately HK$4,124 immediately upon the Share Subdivision and the Change of Board Lot Size becoming effective. Therefore, the Board considers that a board lot value of HK$4,124 on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange would be commercially beneficial to the holders of our ordinary shares and potential investors as a whole. The Share Subdivision and the Change of Board Lot Size will not result in odd lots or fractional shares.

As of the date of this Proxy Statement, the Company has no intention to carry out other corporate actions in the next 12 months which may have an effect of undermining or negating the intended purpose of the Share Subdivision and the Change of Board Lot Size, and the Company currently does not have any definitive plans to conduct any fundraising activities in the next 12 months. Nevertheless, the Board cannot rule out the possibility that the Company will conduct fundraising exercises when suitable opportunities arise in order to support future development of the Company and its subsidiaries. The Company will make further announcements in this regard in accordance with the relevant regulatory requirements if and when appropriate.

Based on the above, the Board considers that the proposed Share Subdivision and the corresponding change in the conversion ratio of our ADSs to ordinary shares and the Change of Board Lot Size are fair and reasonable, as well as in the best interests of the Company, its Shareholders and potential investors overall.

There are no preemptive rightsrecent practices with respect to equity-based compensation under our 2015 Plan and 2017 Plan is presented elsewhere in this Proxy Statement. The following table sets forth the Ordinary Shares,awards that were granted to our named executive officers, our executive officers as a group, our non-employee directors as a group, and shareholders willour other employees (who are not have any dissenters’ or appraisal rights in connection with adoption ofexecutive officers) as a group under the Share Subdivision proposal. The Ordinary2017 Plan during the 2021 fiscal year.

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ExchangeTax Aspects Under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code

The following is a summary of the principal U.S. federal income tax consequences of certain transactions under the 2022 Plan. It describes the consequences based on U.S. federal laws in effect as of the date of mailing of this proxy statement. This summary does not describe all U.S. federal tax consequences under the 2022 Plan, nor does it describe foreign, state or local tax consequences.

Share CertificatesOptions. No income is realized by the optionee at the time the option is granted. Generally (i) at exercise, ordinary income is realized by the optionee in Hong Kong

Holders of Ordinary Shares listed in Hong Kong may submit their Existing Ordinary Share certificates (colored blue)an amount equal to the address anddifference between the times set out below in exchange for Subdivided Ordinary Share certificates (colored green). The existing share certificatesoption price and the fair market value of the ordinary shares on the date of exercise, and the Company receives a tax deduction for the Ordinary Sharessame amount, and (ii) at disposition, appreciation or depreciation in the exercised shares after the date of exercise is treated as either short-term or long-term capital gain or loss depending on how long the ordinary shares have been held.

Other Awards. The Company generally will only be validentitled to a tax deduction in connection with an award under the 2022 Plan in an amount equal to the ordinary income realized by the participant at the time the participant recognizes such income. Participants typically are subject to income tax and recognize such tax at the time that an award vests or becomes non-forfeitable, unless the award provides for delivery, tradinga further deferral.

Parachute Payments. The vesting of any portion of an option or other award that is accelerated due to the occurrence of a change of control may cause a portion of the payments with respect to such accelerated awards to be treated as “parachute payments” as defined in the Internal Revenue Code. Any such parachute payments may be non-deductible to the Company, in whole or in part, and settlement purposes formay subject the period uprecipient to 4:10 p.m. (Hong Kong Time)a non-deductible 20% federal excise tax on Tuesday, May 10, 2022all or a portion of such payment (in addition to other taxes ordinarily payable).

Vote Required

The approval of Proposal 11 requires the favorable vote of a simple majority of the votes cast by the shareholders entitled to vote who are present in person or by proxy. Broker non-votes and thereafterabstentions with respect to Proposal 11 will not be acceptedtreated as votes cast for delivery, tradingthis purpose and, settlement purposes. However,therefore, will not affect the Existing Ordinary Share certificates will continue to be good evidence of legal title and may be exchanged for share certificates for the Subdivided Ordinary Shares at any time.

Note:

Listing Application

An application will be made by the Company to the Listing Committee for the listing of, and the permission to deal in, (i) the Subdivided Ordinary Shares, (ii) any Subdivided Ordinary Shares which may be issued upon exerciseoutcome of the outstanding share options granted by the Company or any Subdivided Ordinary Shares which may be issued upon vesting of the share awards under the 2015 Equity Plan and the 2017 Equity Plan, and (iii) any Subdivided Ordinary Shares which may be issued upon the exercise of share options or any Subdivided Ordinary Shares which may be issued upon vesting of the share awards to be granted from time to time under the 2015 Equity Plan and the 2017 Equity Plan. All necessary arrangements will be made for the Subdivided Ordinary Shares to be admitted into the Central Clearing and Settlement System (“CCASS”) established and operated by Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company Limited (“HKSCC”).vote.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS THAT SHAREHOLDERS “VOTE” FOR APPROVAL OF THE ADOPTION OF THE ZAI LAB LIMITED 2022 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN, CONDITIONED ON AND SUBJECT TO THE DUAL-PRIMARY LISTING OF THE COMPANY ON THE MAIN BOARD OF THE STOCK EXCHANGE OF HONG KONG LIMITED BECOMING EFFECTIVE.

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SubjectPROPOSAL 12

RATIFICATION OF APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

Description of the Proposal

Our Audit Committee is directly responsible for the appointment, compensation, retention and oversight of the independent registered public accounting firm retained to audit our consolidated financial statements. Following a review process conducted by the granting of listing of, and permission to dealAudit Committee, our Audit Committee has selected KPMG, an independent registered public accounting firm in the Subdivided Ordinary SharesUnited States, as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022 for the Company’s annual consolidated financial statements filed with the SEC and its internal controls over financial reporting in accordance with the Exchange Act. Our Audit Committee believes that the retention of KPMG to serve as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022 for the Company’s annual consolidated financial statements filed with the SEC and its internal controls over financial reporting in accordance with the Exchange Act is in the best interest of the Company and its shareholders.

Although shareholder approval of our Audit Committee’s selection of KPMG is not required, the Board of Directors believes that it is a matter of good corporate practice to solicit shareholder ratification of this selection. The Board of Directors recommends that shareholders vote for approval and ratification of this appointment. If this proposal is not approved at the Annual Meeting, the Board of Directors will reconsider its appointment of KPMG. Even if the selection is ratified, our Audit Committee has the ability to change the engagement of KPMG if it considers that a change is in the Company’s best interest.

We expect a representative of KPMG to be available at the Annual Meeting in person or virtually and available to respond to appropriate questions. They will have the opportunity to make a statement if they desire to do so, and will be available to respond to appropriate questions.

Prior Year Auditors

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Certified Public Accountants LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm in China, and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, an independent registered public accounting firm in Hong Kong (together, “Deloitte”), were appointed as our independent registered public accounting firms for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021. Additionally, Deloitte Touche LLP is U.S. firm that provides tax advisory services for our U.S. tax filings. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Certified Public Accountants LLP has audited our financial statements filed with the SEC for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 and internal controls over financial reporting for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu was engaged in 2020 to audit our annual financial statements filed with the HKEx in accordance with the Hong Kong Listing Rules, following our secondary listing on HKEx.

On April 20, 2022, our Audit Committee notified Deloitte that Deloitte will be dismissed from auditing our annual consolidated financial statements, effective after Deloitte’s completion of its services as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firms for the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 and the Company’s receipt of the requisite approvals from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the Subdivided Ordinary Shares willFinancial Reporting Council of Hong Kong for the appointment of KPMG LLP. Deloitte’s reports on the Company’s consolidated financial statements for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2021 do not contain any adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion, nor are qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principles.

During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2021 and the subsequent interim period through the date of the filing of this proxy statement, the Company had (i) no disagreements with Deloitte in any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedure, which disagreement(s), if not resolved to the satisfaction of Deloitte, would have caused it to make reference to the

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subject matter of the disagreement(s) in connection with its reports for such years and interim period and (ii) no reportable events within the meaning of Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K. Additionally, there are no matters in respect of the change of the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm that need to be acceptedbrought to the attention of the shareholders of the Company. We do not expect representatives of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Certified Public Accountants LLP or Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu to be available at the Annual Meeting in person or virtually and available to respond to appropriate questions.

In accordance with Item 304(a)(3) of Regulation S-K, the Company has provided Deloitte a copy of the disclosures contained herein prior to its filing with the SEC and requested that Deloitte furnish the Company with a letter addressed to the SEC stating whether Deloitte agrees with the above statements. A copy of that letter, dated [●], 2022, is filed as eligibleExhibit 16.1 to the Amendment to Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on [●], 2022.

Auditors’ Fees

The following table summarizes the fees of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Certified Public Accountants LLP, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and Deloitte Touche LLP billed to the Company for each of the last two fiscal years (in thousands of U.S. Dollars).

Pre-approval Policies

The Board of Directors has adopted policies and procedures for the pre-approval of audit and non-audit services by HKSCCthe Audit Committee for deposit, clearancethe purpose of maintaining the independence of our independent auditors. The Audit Committee pre-approves all auditing services, internal control-related services and settlement in CCASSpermitted non-audit services to be performed for the Company by its independent auditor. Consistent with effectany applicable SEC rules on auditor independence, the Audit Committee annually may establish ceilings on the level of fees and costs of generally pre-approved and sufficiently defined services that may be performed without seeking additional approval from the commencement dateCommittee. The Committee may delegate pre-approval authority to one or more of dealingsits members. The member (or members) to whom such authority is delegated must report, for informational purposes only, any pre-approval decisions to the Committee at its next regularly scheduled meeting. In accordance with Regulation S-X, Rule 2-01, paragraph (c)(7)(i), no fees for services in 2020, 2019 and 2018 were approved pursuant to any waivers of the Subdivided Ordinary Shares onpre-approval requirement.

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The Audit Committee has reviewed an independence letter from KPMG to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange or such other date as determined by HKSCC. Settlement of transactions between participantsCommittee dated April 12, 2022, taken into consideration each of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on any trading day is required to take place in CCASS on the second settlement day thereafter. All activities under CCASS are subjectfactors addressed therein pertaining to the General Rulesindependence of CCASSKPMG and CCASS Operational Proceduresits affiliates and determined that KPMG has not provided any non-audit services and has determined that KPMG is independent with respect to the Company and its affiliates and in effect from time to time.compliance with PCAOB Rule 3520.

Vote Required and Board of Directors’ Recommendation

This proposalApproval of Proposal 12 requires the affirmativefavorable vote of a simple majority of the votes cast by the shareholders entitled to vote who are present in person, virtually or by proxy at the EGM. AbstentionsAnnual Meeting. Broker non-votes and abstentions with respect to Proposal 12 will not be treated as votes cast for this purpose and, therefore, will not affect the outcome of the vote. We expect that there will be no broker non-votes will have no effect on this vote.proposal due to the discretionary authority granted to brokerage firms, banks and other financial institutions.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” THE RATIFICATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF KPMG LLP AS OUR INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2022 FOR THE COMPANY’S ANNUAL CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC AND ITS INTERNAL CONTROLS OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE EXCHANGE ACT.

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PROPOSAL 13

GENERAL MANDATE TO ISSUE SHARES

Description of the Proposal

In order to give the Company the flexibility to issue ordinary shares and/or ADSs if and when appropriate and in accordance with Rule 13.36 of the HK Listing Rules, the Company proposes an ordinary resolution at the Annual Meeting to approve the granting of a share issue mandate to the Board of Directors to issue, allot or deal with unissued ordinary shares and/or ADSs not exceeding 20% of the total number of issued ordinary shares of the Company as at the date of passing of such ordinary resolution (equal to a total of 195,817,486 ordinary shares as of April 22, 2022 on the basis that no further ordinary shares are issued or repurchased before the Annual Meeting) up to the next annual general meeting of the Company, conditioned on and subject to the dual-primary listing of the Company on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited becoming effective (the “General Mandate to Issue Shares”). The General Mandate to Issue Shares shall remain in force until:

Proposal 13 is being submitted for shareholder approval as required by the HKEx and/or in compliance with the HK Listing Rules.

Vote Required

Approval of Proposal 13 requires the favorable vote of a simple majority of the votes cast by the shareholders entitled to vote who are present in person or by proxy at the Annual Meeting. Broker non-votes and abstentions with respect to Proposal 13 will not be treated as votes cast for this purpose and, therefore, will not affect the outcome of the vote.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS THAT SHAREHOLDERS VOTE FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE SHARE SUBDIVISION.GENERAL MANDATE TO ISSUE SHARES.

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PROPOSAL 14

NON-BINDING, ADVISORY VOTE TO APPROVE EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Description of the Proposal

Consistent with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the “Dodd-Frank Act”), we are providing our shareholders with an opportunity to indicate whether they support our named executive officer compensation as described in detail in the “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” and the accompanying “Executive Compensation” section beginning on page 53 of this Proxy Statement. This non-binding advisory vote, commonly referred to as “say-on-pay,” is not intended to address any specific item of compensation, but instead relates to the “Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” the tabular disclosures regarding named executive officer compensation, and the narrative disclosure accompanying the tabular presentation. These disclosures allow you to view the trends in our executive compensation program and the application of our compensation philosophies for the years presented.

As discussed in detail in the “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” section of this proxy statement, our executive compensation guiding principles and structure are designed to attract and retain extraordinary leaders who can perform at high levels and succeed in a demanding business environment.

Specifically, our executive compensation program in 2021 was:

The Compensation Committee actively reviews and assesses our executive compensation program in light of the highly competitive employment environment, the challenge of recruiting, motivating and retaining executives in

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an industry with longer business cycles than other commercial industries, significant risks associated with success in our industry and evolving compensation governance and best practices. In reconciling these considerations, the Compensation Committee strives to act in the long-term best interests of the Company and our shareholders and believes that our executive compensation program is strongly aligned with the long-term interests of our shareholders. In determining whether to approve this proposal, the Compensation Committee believes that shareholders should consider the following with respect to 2021 compensation:

We actively monitor our executive compensation practices in light of the industry in which we operate and the marketplace for talent in which we compete. We are focused on compensating our executive officers fairly and in a manner that incentivizes high levels of performance while providing the Company with tools to attract and retain the best talent.

Vote Required

Advisory approval of Proposal 14 requires the favorable vote of a simple majority of the votes cast by the shareholders entitled to vote who are present in person or by proxy at the Annual Meeting. Broker non-votes and abstentions with respect to Proposal 14 will not be treated as votes cast for this purpose and, therefore, will not affect the outcome of the vote. The say-on-pay vote is advisory and therefore not binding on the Board of Directors, the Compensation Committee or our Company. However, the Board of Directors and the Compensation Committee value the opinion of our shareholders, and to the extent there is a significant vote against the compensation of our named executive officers as disclosed in this Proxy Statement, we will consider our shareholders’ concerns, and the Compensation Committee will evaluate whether any actions are necessary to address those concerns.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS THAT SHAREHOLDERS VOTE FOR APPROVAL, ON AN ADVISORY BASIS, OF THE COMPENSATION OF OUR NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS.

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PROPOSAL 15

ADVISORY VOTE TO APPROVE FREQUENCY OF FUTURE ADVISORY VOTES ON EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Description of the Proposal

We are also seeking a non-binding advisory vote on the frequency with which say-on-pay votes, like Proposal 14 in this Proxy Statement, should be held in the future. This advisory vote is commonly referred to as “say on frequency.” Under the Dodd-Frank Act, promulgated under the Exchange Act, shareholders may vote to indicate their preference for conducting a say-on-pay vote:

Shareholders may also abstain from voting on this proposal. In considering your vote, you may wish to review the information presented in connection with Proposal 14 in this Proxy Statement, as well as the “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” and “Executive Compensation” sections of this Proxy Statement, which provide a more detailed discussion of our executive compensation program and policies.

The Board of Directors has determined that holding a “say-on-pay” vote every three years is most appropriate for the Company and recommends that you vote to hold such advisory vote in the future every third year, for the following reasons:

The Board of Directors weighed the reasons set forth above against the arguments in support of conducting the advisory vote annually or biannually. In particular, the Board of Directors considered the value of the opportunity for shareholder input at each annual meeting, as well as the belief that annual votes would promote greater accountability on executive compensation. Although the Board of Directors believes that these and other

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positions put forth in favor of an annual “say-on-pay” vote are not without merit, on balance, the Board of Directors believes that a triennial approach is most appropriate for the Company and recommends that voting alternative to shareholders.

The Board of Directors intends to periodically reassess that view and, if it determines appropriate, may provide for an advisory vote on executive compensation on a more frequent basis.

Vote Required

For the reasons discussed above, the Board of Directors recommends that shareholders vote to hold the advisory vote on executive compensation every three years. Shareholders are not voting, however, to approve or disapprove of this particular recommendation. The proxy card provides for four choices and shareholders are entitled to vote on whether the advisory vote on executive compensation should be held every one, two or three years or to abstain from voting on this proposal.

Advisory approval of Proposal 15 requires the favorable vote of a simple majority of the votes cast by the shareholders entitled to vote who are present in person or by proxy. Broker non-votes and abstentions with respect to Proposal 15 will not be treated as votes cast for this purpose and, therefore, will not affect the outcome of the vote. With respect to this proposal, if none of the frequency options (one year, two years or three years) receive a majority vote, we will consider the frequency that receives the highest number of votes cast by shareholders to be the frequency that has been recommended by shareholders. Proposal 15 is non-binding. Because this vote is advisory and not binding on us or the Board of Directors, the Board of Directors may decide that it is in our and our shareholders’ best interests to hold an advisory vote on executive compensation more or less frequently than the alternative approved by our shareholders. However, the Board of Directors does intend to take the results of the vote on this proposal into account in its decision regarding the frequency with which our Company submits say-on-pay proposals in the future.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS THAT SHAREHOLDERS VOTE “FOR” APPROVAL, ON AN ADVISORY BASIS, OF THE HOLDING OF AN ADVISORY VOTE ON THE COMPENSATION OF OUR NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS EVERY THREE YEARS.

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TRANSACTION OF OTHER BUSINESS

The Board of Directors knows of no other matters that will be presented for consideration at the EGMAnnual Meeting as of the date of this Proxy Statement. If any other matters are properly brought before the EGM,Annual Meeting, the person(s) named in the accompanying proxy intend to vote on such matters in accordance with their best judgment.

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SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

The table below table sets forth certain information known to us regarding beneficial ownership of our share capital as of FebruaryApril 1, 2022 by:

Beneficial ownership as set forth below is determined in accordance with the rules of the SEC and generally includes voting or investment power with respect to securities, except as otherwise provided. The beneficial ownership rules of the SEC differ from those of the SFO and the HK Listing Rules. Except as noted by footnote, and subject to community property laws where applicable, we believe based on the information provided to us that the persons and entities named in the table below have sole voting and investment power with respect to all securities shown as beneficially owned by them.

The applicable percentagebeneficial ownership percentages in the table below isare based on 96,408,743964,087,430 ordinary shares outstanding as of FebruaryApril 1, 2022. Any options to purchase ordinary shares that are exercisable and restricted share units, or RSUs that will vest within 60 days of FebruaryApril 1, 2022 are deemed to be beneficially owned by the persons holding these options for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership of such persons, but are not treated as outstanding for the purpose of computing any other person’s ownership percentage.

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Composition of the Board of Directors

The following table sets forth the name, age and position of each of our directors as of April 1, 2022:

Election of Directors

The Board of Directors currently consists of nine members. The Current Articles provide that unless otherwise determined by the Company in a general meeting, the authorized number of directors shall be not less than one or more than ten. We are not subject to any contractual obligations regarding the election of our directors. Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and Board of Directors may consider a broad range of factors relating to the qualifications and background of nominees, as further set forth below under “Director Nominations.”

Cayman law does not require an annual election of directors and the Current Articles provide that directors hold office until their successors have been elected and qualified or until the earlier of their resignation or removal.

The Current Articles provide that (1) the shareholders requisitioning a general meeting of shareholders may put forward resolutions to appoint or remove directors (with or without cause), and (2) at that meeting so convened, the affirmative vote of a simple majority of the issued shares as of the applicable record date may by ordinary resolution approve the removal of directors. Shareholders holding in aggregate not less than one-tenth of the voting rights of issued shares and entitled to vote at general meetings to requisition an extraordinary general meeting of our shareholders in accordance with the Current Articles. Additionally, the Current Articles provide that any vacancy on the Board of Directors, including a vacancy resulting from an enlargement of the Board of Directors, may be filled by ordinary resolution or by vote of a simple majority of our directors then in office.

Independence of Directors

The Board of Directors has determined that all members of the Board of Directors, except Samantha (Ying) Du, are independent, as determined in accordance with the Nasdaq listing rules; and that all members of the Board of Directors, except Samantha (Ying) Du, are independent, as determined in accordance with the HK Listing Rules. In making this independence determination, the Board of Directors considered the relationships that each such director has with us and all other facts and circumstances that the Board of Directors deemed relevant in determining their independence, including the beneficial ownership of our share capital by each director. In considering the independence of the directors listed above, the Board of Directors considered the association of

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our directors with the holders of more than 5% of our share capital. We expect that the composition and functioning of the Board of Directors and each of our committees will continue to comply with all applicable requirements of the Nasdaq Stock Market, the rules and regulations of the SEC and the HK Listing Rules. There are no family relationships among any of our directors or executive officers.

Director Nominations

The Board of Directors will consider and approve from time to time the criteria that it deems necessary or advisable for director candidates. The Board of Directors has full authority to modify such criteria as it deems necessary or advisable. The Board of Directors has delegated to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee the responsibility for developing and recommending to the Board of Directors for its consideration and approval criteria for director candidates. The Company has adopted guidelines and procedures for director candidates. The Board of Directors may, however, rescind its delegation and assume the responsibilities it previously delegated to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.

The Board of Directors has delegated to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee the responsibility to identify candidates for nomination to the Board of Directors (including candidates to fill vacancies) and assessing their qualifications in light of the principles in our Corporate Governance Guidelines and the Committee’s charter. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will recommend director candidates for the Board of Directors’ consideration and review the candidates’ qualifications with the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors retains the authority to nominate a candidate for election by the shareholders as a director and to fill vacancies. From time to time, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee utilizes third-party search firms to identify director candidates. In identifying director candidates, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may consider all facts and circumstances it deems appropriate, including, among other things, the skills of the candidate, his or her depth and breadth of business experience and other background characteristics, his or her independence and the needs of the Board of Directors.

Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee has not adopted a formal policy with respect to a fixed set of specific minimum qualifications for its candidates for membership on the Board of Directors. Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and Board of Directors may therefore consider a broad range of factors relating to the qualifications and background of nominees. Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee’s and Board of Directors’ priority in selecting board members is the identification of persons who will further the interests of our shareholders through his or her established record of professional accomplishment, the ability to contribute positively to the collaborative culture among board members, knowledge of our business, understanding of the competitive landscape, and professional and personal experiences and relevant expertise.

Director Nominations by Shareholders

Any shareholder wishing to recommend a director candidate for consideration by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee should provide the following information within the time frame set forth for shareholder proposals and in accordance with our Articles of Association to Zai Lab Limited, 4560 Jinke Road, Bldg. 1, Fourth Floor, Pudong, Shanghai, China 201210, attention to Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary: (a) the name and address of record of the shareholder; (b) a representation that the shareholder is a record holder of our securities or, if the shareholder is not a record holder, evidence of ownership in accordance with Rule 14a-8(b)(2) of the Exchange Act; (c) the candidate’s name, age, business and residential address, educational background, current principal occupation or employment, and principal occupation or employment for the past five years; (d) a description of the qualifications and background of the candidate that addresses the criteria for board membership approved by the Board of Directors; (e) a description of all arrangements or understandings between the shareholder and the candidate; (f) the consent of the candidate (i) to be named in the proxy statement for our next general meeting and (ii) to serve as a director, if elected at that meeting; and (g) and any other information

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regarding the candidate that is required to be included in a proxy statement filed pursuant to SEC rules and HK Listing Rules. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may seek further information from or about the shareholder making the recommendation, the candidate, or any such other beneficial owner, including information about all business and other relationships between the candidate and the shareholder and between the candidate and any such other beneficial owner.

Shareholder Communications

The Board of Directors provides to every shareholder the ability to communicate with the Board of Directors, as a whole, and with individual directors on the Board of Directors through an established process for shareholder communication. For a shareholder communication directed to the Board of Directors as a whole, shareholders may send such communication to the attention of our Corporate Secretary via regular mail or expedited delivery service to: Zai Lab Limited, 4560 Jinke Road, Bldg. 1, Fourth Floor, Pudong, Shanghai, China 201210, attention Board of Directors c/o Corporate Secretary.

For a shareholder communication directed to an individual director in his or her capacity as a member of the Board of Directors, shareholders may send such communication to the attention of the individual director via Regular Mail or Expedited Delivery Service to: Zai Lab Limited, 4560 Jinke Road, Bldg. 1, Fourth Floor, Pudong, Shanghai, China 201210, Attention: [Name of Individual Director].

Communications will be distributed to the Board of Directors, or to any individual director or directors as appropriate, depending on the facts and circumstances outlined in the communications. Items that are unrelated to the duties and responsibilities of the Board of Directors may be excluded, such as junk mail and mass mailings, resumes and other forms of job inquiries, surveys and solicitations or advertisements.

Board Leadership Structure and Role in Risk Oversight

Our Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Samantha (Ying) Du, is the Chairperson of the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors believes that Dr. Du is the director best suited to identify strategic opportunities for the Company and the focus of the Board of Directors due to her extensive understanding of our business as a founder and our Chief Executive Officer. The Board of Directors also believes that the combined role of Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer can promote the effective execution of strategic initiatives and facilitate the flow of information between management and the Board of Directors.

The Board of Directors oversees the management of risks inherent in the operation of our business and the implementation of our business strategies. The Board of Directors performs this oversight role by using several different levels of review. In connection with its reviews of our operations and corporate functions, the Board of Directors addresses the primary risks associated with those operations and corporate functions. In addition, the Board of Directors reviews the risks associated with our business strategies periodically throughout the year.

Each of the board committees also oversees the management of our risk that falls within the committee’s areas of responsibility. In performing this function, each committee has full access to management, as well as the ability to engage advisors. Our Chief Financial Officer reports to the Audit Committee and is responsible for identifying, evaluating and implementing risk management controls and methodologies to address any identified risks. In connection with its risk management role, our Audit Committee meets privately with representatives from our independent registered public accounting firms and our Chief Financial Officer. The Audit Committee oversees the operation of our risk management program, including the identification of the primary risks associated with our business and periodic updates to such risks, and reports to the Board of Directors regarding these activities.

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Board Diversity

In accordance with Nasdaq Rule 5606, the below chart provides information on each of our director’s voluntary, self-identified characteristics.

Board Meetings

The Board of Directors held six meetings and acted by unanimous written consent eight times during 2021. The independent directors ordinarily hold executive sessions at regularly scheduled meetings of the Board of Directors. Each of our other directors then in office attended at least 75% of the aggregate of all meetings of the Board of Directors and all meetings of the committees of the Board of Directors on which such director then served. Directors and director nominees are encouraged to attend the annual general meeting of shareholders, barring significant commitments or special circumstances.

Committees of the Board

During 2021, the Board of Directors had four standing committees: the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the Research and Development Committee.

Audit Committee

John Diekman, Peter Wirth and Scott Morrison currently serve on the Audit Committee, which is chaired by John Diekman. The Board of Directors has determined that each member of the Audit Committee is “independent” for Audit Committee purposes as that term is defined in the rules of the SEC and the Nasdaq Stock Market. The Board of Directors has evaluated the background of Scott Morrison and, upon so doing, designated him as an “audit committee financial expert,” as defined in SEC rules. The Audit Committee’s responsibilities include:

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The Audit Committee held seven meetings and acted by unanimous written consent three times during 2021. The Audit Committee operates under a written charter that satisfies the applicable standards of the SEC, the Nasdaq Stock Market and the HKEx. A copy of the Audit Committee charter is available on our website at https://www.zailaboratory.com/ under “Investors.”

Compensation Committee

Peter Wirth, Nisa Leung and Leon O. Moulder, Jr. currently serve on the Compensation Committee, which is chaired by Peter Wirth. The Board of Directors has determined that each member of the Compensation Committee is “independent” as that term is defined in the Nasdaq listing rules and the HKEx. The Compensation Committee’s responsibilities include:

The Compensation Committee held seven meetings and acted by unanimous written consent five times during 2021. The Compensation Committee operates under a written charter adopted by the Board of Directors, which is available on our website at https://www.zailaboratory.com/ under “Investors.”

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Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

Leon O. Moulder, Jr., John Diekman and William Lis currently serve on the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, which is chaired by Leon O. Moulder, Jr. The Board of Directors has determined that each member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is “independent” as that term is defined in the Nasdaq listing rules and the HKEx. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee’s responsibilities include:

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee held four meetings and acted by unanimous written consent once during 2021. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee operates pursuant to a written charter adopted by the Board of Directors, which is available on our website at https://www.zailaboratory.com/ under “Investors.”

Research and Development Committee

Richard Gaynor, M.D., Kai-Xian Chen, Samantha Du and William Lis currently serve on the Research and Development Committee, which is chaired by Richard Gaynor, M.D. The Research and Development Committee’s responsibilities include:

The Research and Development Committee did not hold meetings and or act by unanimous written consent during 2021, as the inaugural meeting of this Committee was held in January 2022. The Research and Development Committee operates pursuant to a written charter adopted by the Board of Directors, which is available on our website at https://www.zailaboratory.com/ under “Investors.”

Environmental, Social and Governance Practices

We understand that to achieve our ambitious mission, we must continue to integrate environmental protection, social responsibility and governance practices (ESG) into the Company’s daily operations. In September 2021,

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the Company issued its first ESG report, aligned to industry appropriate standards set by the Sustainable Accountability Standards Board (SASB), with influence from other sources, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and guidelines of Institutional Shareholders Services (ISS). The Company’s ESG program details are included in the 2021 ESG report. Key disclosures and highlights include:

Social

Access to/affordability of medicines. The Company has the goal of widespread access to treatments that deliver value for the societies that provide them and for patients in need, which will in turn allow our Company to continue discovering innovative solutions for serious unmet medical conditions. We aim to achieve universal or near-universal access to our products following these commitments:

Drug safety. One of the Company’s values is patient first. We monitor drug safety and quality at all stages of the drug development process because we care about patient safety. We have established formal standards and protocols to ensure the integrity and safety of all investigational compounds used in clinical studies, as well as commercial therapies provided to patients. This includes formal and rigorous standards and protocols for ensuring the quality and safety of all products throughout the manufacturing and distribution chain. We have not received any warning letters from regulators and have had no product recalls.

Clinical Trial Research and Transparency. We commit to conduct ethical, transparent and safe clinical trial research. In all clinical research conducted by or on behalf of the Company, we and our partners follow local laws and regulations. We follow the International Council for Harmonization Good Clinical Practice (ICH-GCP). Our clinical Quality Management System (QMS) covers clinical quality assurance, pharmacovigilance and clinical study life cycle management. The QMS consists of four Policies, 87 SOPs/Work Instructions and more than 240 associated templates or working forms. No clinical trials conducted by the Company resulted in a Voluntary Action Indicated or an Official Action Indicated, and no clinical trials conducted by the Company resulted in losses from legal proceedings.

Employee Recruitment, Development & Retention. We understand that the people who work with us are our most valuable asset. Our six corporate values: Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Patient First, Collaboration, Dedication and Integrity drive our commitment to our employees. Key aspects of our commitments include:

Gender diversity, equity and inclusion. We understand that in order to be competitive in today’s environment, we must maintain a company culture where everyone can contribute and thrive. We are committed to providing

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equal opportunities to our workforce. The Company has established and maintains female representation in senior management, including the Founder/Chairperson/CEO and two out of nine members of the Board of Directors. Within the company overall, 58% of the workforce are women. Women hold 53.8% of management positions. We are proud that we have gender equity in management positions and that we have base salary pay equity at all levels of the organization.

Environmental

Energy, water and waste efficiency. We know our daily operations, where and how we work, matter in the fight against climate change. We are also aware of the threat of climate change on our business operations. We commit to reduce the environmental footprint of all business practices and work with our partners to encourage and support their efforts to do the same. Our internal environmental management system is set up according to the ISO14001 framework. We have procedures in place for Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) management, including an EHS Management System Manual, EHS Specifications and a Wastewater Management Procedure. The Environmental Management System manual contains sections on environmental strategy and emissions and waste reduction. We have procedures for assessing risk and measuring outcomes in the areas of greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, waste management, water use, packaging and environmental health and safety. Environmental key performance indicators 2019 and 2020 data is disclosed in our 2021 ESG report.

Governance

ESG. In 2021, the Company established the following governance for ESG matters. The Nominating and Governance Committee oversees all ESG matters for the Board of Directors. Led by our CEO and Founder, the executive team monitors the delivery of the business strategy, including the development and delivery of the ESG agenda. In 2021, the Company hired a Chief Sustainability Officer responsible for the day-to-day management of the enterprise ESG program. The Company is currently conducting its first materiality process review. The Company will engage key stakeholders including patients, employees, partners and investors to inform the company’s long-term ESG strategy with prioritized material topics, goals and timelines.

Code of Conduct and Ethics. The Audit Committee has oversight for all compliance and ethics matters. The Global Compliance Committee (GCC) is composed of the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Legal Officer and representatives from Internal Audit, R&D, Human Resources and Operations. The Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) chairs the GCC, reports organizationally to the Chief Legal Officer and functionally into the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors and is responsible for the day-to-day management of and staffing for the enterprise compliance program. The Company’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics defines the Company’s culture and beliefs, how it conducts business worldwide, how it treats people and how it protects information and property. Everyone at the Company, including our CEO, completes the training. All employees are expected to incorporate its lessons into everything they do.

Interactions with Healthcare Professionals, Patient and Patient Organizations. Our actions and our words serve as the foundation of trust within our team, in our interactions with partners and customers and in the therapies we develop and market. Additional and full details of our principles of business behavior, policies and SOPs can be found in our Code of Conduct and Ethics, 2021 ESG report and in our Commitment to Ethical Marketing Practices Position Statement.

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EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

The following table sets forth the name, age and position of each of our executive officers as of April 1, 2022:

Biographical information for our executive officers as of April 1, 2022 is set forth below:

The biographical information of Samantha (Ying) Du, Ph.D. isset forth above under “Corporate Governance — Composition of The Board of Directors.”

Billy Cho, M.B.A., M.A. joined our Company as our Chief Financial Officer in March 2018. Prior to joining our Company, Mr. Cho served as Managing Director and Head of Asia Healthcare Investment Banking at Citigroup. Based in Hong Kong since 2011, Mr. Cho was responsible for healthcare client coverage at Citigroup across the Asia Pacific region and led many biopharma transactions in China, including Zai Lab’s U.S. initial public offering. Prior to this, he was based in New York in healthcare M&A investment banking and also spent time in corporate development for a pharmaceutical services company. Mr. Cho started his career at Ernst & Young performing financial audits of U.S.-based healthcare companies. Mr. Cho earned his M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in May 2011, M.S. in Accounting from the University of Virginia in 2001 and a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business in 2000.

F. Ty Edmondson joined our Company as Chief Legal Officer in August 2020. Mr. Edmondson has served in various legal and compliance roles during his tenure at Biogen Inc., a leading global biotech company where he has been from June 2014 through August 2020, including Senior Vice President, Chief Corporation Counsel and Assistant Secretary. During his time at Biogen, he also served as the Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Commercial Counsel and Chief International Counsel of the company. Prior to Biogen, Mr. Edmondson served as Vice President, Associate General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Sepracor Inc., as well as in various senior legal and compliance positions in Japan and China after Sepracor’s acquisition by Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd. Before Sumitomo, Mr. Edmondson served in various roles with life sciences companies with a focus on international and U.S. FDA work, including Eisai, Inc., Boston Scientific and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Before his work in the life sciences industry, he was an associate with the admiralty law firm, Royston Rayzor in Houston, Texas. Mr. Edmondson received a BA degree in History from Washington & Lee University in June 1988 and received a J.D. from the Widener University School of Law in May 1993.

Harald Reinhart. M.D. joined our Company in May 2017 and currently serves as President, Head of Global Development, Neuroscience, Autoimmune and Infectious Diseases. He is Adjunct Clinical Professor of infectious diseases at Yale School of Medicine. Prior to joining the Company, Dr. Reinhart worked at Shionogi US as Head of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs, directing a broad portfolio of antibiotics, diabetes, allergy and pain medications. He guided several compounds through regulatory meetings and obtained approval for ospemifene. Between 2003 and 2011, he held senior roles at Novartis where he oversaw successful filings of SNDAs and NDAs for Coartem, Famvir, Sebivo and Cubicin, managed clinical development groups for infectious disease, immunity, transplantation and renal disease. He supervised the transitioning of research projects into clinical development. In the years before, he was International Clinical Project Manager in charge of

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ciprofloxacin and acarbose at Bayer Corp., with several successful SNDAs and approvals. Dr. Reinhart holds a medical degree from the University of Würzburg in Germany where he trained in anesthesiology. He completed his medical specialty training in the United States with board-certifications in internal medicine and infectious diseases.

Alan Bart Sandler, M.D. has been our President, Head of Global Development, Oncology since December 2020. Dr. Sandler brings nearly 30 years of oncology and drug development experience across industry and academia. Prior to joining Zai Lab, he was the Senior Vice President and Global Head of Product Development Oncology at Genentech, a member of the Roche Group. During his tenure at Genentech/Roche, he led the teams responsible for the global development and regulatory approval of several innovative medicines, most recently Tecentriq^®. Prior to joining Genentech/Roche, Dr. Sandler served as Professor and Chief of Hematology/Oncology at Oregon Health and Science University. Previously, he served on the faculties of the medical schools of Indiana University and Vanderbilt University. Dr. Sandler holds a Doctor of Medicine degree from Rush Medical College. He completed his training in internal medicine and a fellowship in medical oncology at Yale-New Haven Medical Center. He has published over 300 peer-reviewed publications, articles, abstracts and book chapters.

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CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED-PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Other than compensation arrangements, we describe below any transactions and series of similar transactions, since January 1, 2021 to which we were a party or will be a party, in which:

We believe that all of the transactions described below were made on terms no less favorable to us than could have been obtained from unaffiliated third parties. Compensation arrangements for our directors and named executive officers are described in the sections of this Proxy Statement titled “Director Compensation” and “Executive Compensation.”

MEDx Research Agreement

MEDx (Suzhou) Translational Medicine Co., Ltd., or MEDx, provides product research and development services to us. We paid MEDx for services rendered $680,000 for the year ended December 31, 2021, and from January 1 to April 1, 2022, $74,000. Mr. Zhang, the Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Board member of MEDx is an immediate family member of Dr. Samantha (Ying) Du, our Founder, Chairperson and CEO.

Employment Agreements

For more information regarding employment agreements with our named executive officers, see “Executive Compensation — Employment Agreements.”

Indemnification Agreements

Cayman law does not limit the extent to which a company’s articles of association may provide indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as providing indemnification against civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our articles provide that each director and officer shall be indemnified and secured harmless out of the assets and funds of our Company against all actions, proceedings, costs, charges, expenses, losses, damages or liabilities incurred or sustained by him or her in connection with the execution or discharge of his or her duties, powers, authorities or discretions as a director or officer of our Company, including without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, any costs, expenses, losses or liabilities incurred by him or her in defending (whether successfully or otherwise) any civil proceedings concerning the Company or its affairs in any court whether in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere.

In addition, we have entered into indemnification agreements to indemnify our directors and executive officers that will provide such persons with additional indemnification beyond that provided in our articles. These agreements, among other things, indemnify our directors and executive officers against certain liabilities and expenses incurred by such persons in connection with claims made by reason of their being such a director or executive officer.

Registration Rights

Pursuant to a shareholders agreement, as amended and restated, certain holders of our registrable shares are entitled to rights with respect to the registration of these shares under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Securities Act, including demand registration rights, short-form registration rights and piggyback registration

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rights. All fees, costs and expenses of underwritten registrations will be borne by us and all selling expenses, including underwriting

discounts and selling commissions, will be borne by the holders of the shares being registered. The shareholders agreement contains customary cross-indemnification provisions, under which we are obligated to indemnify such holders of registrable securities in the event of material misstatements or omissions in the registration statement or any violation of applicable securities laws by us (except for such misstatement, omission or violation that are attributable to such holders), and such holders are obligated to indemnify us for material misstatements or omissions in the registration statement or any violation of applicable securities laws by us that are attributable to them. The registration rights granted under the shareholders agreement will terminate upon the earlier of (i) the date of completion of a deemed liquidation event, (ii) the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering (September 22, 2022) and (iii) the date such holder may sell all its registrable shares under Rule 144 of the Securities Act in any ninety-day period.

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COMPENSATION COMMITTEE INTERLOCKS AND INSIDER PARTICIPATION

None of the members of the Compensation Committee has at any time during 2021 been an officer or employee of the Company. None of our executive officers currently serves, or in the past fiscal year has served, as a member of the board of directors or compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on the Board of Directors or the Compensation Committee.

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DELINQUENT SECTION 16(A) REPORTS

Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our officers and directors and persons who beneficially own more than 10% of our ordinary shares (collectively, “Reporting Persons”) to file reports of beneficial ownership and changes in beneficial ownership with the SEC. Reporting Persons are required by SEC regulations to furnish us with copies of all Section 16(a) forms they file. Based solely on our review of such reports received or written representations from certain Reporting Persons during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, we believe that all Reporting Persons complied with all Section 16(a) reporting requirements, with the exception of one late Form 4 filed for Harald Reinhart filed on December 27, 2021 to report a transaction that occurred on December 21, 2021; one late Form 4 filed for Frazor Titus Edmondson III filed on December 3, 2021 to report a transaction that occurred on August 17, 2021; two late Form 4 filed for Tao Fu, one filed on September 27, 2021 to report a transaction that occurred on September 15, 2021 and another filed on July 19, 2021 to report a transaction that occurred on July 15, 2021; and one late Form 4 filed for Kai-Xian Chen filed on March 30, 2021 to report a transaction that occurred on March 12, 2021.

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AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT

The information contained in this report shall not be deemed to be (1) “soliciting material,” (2) “filed” with the SEC, (3) subject to Regulations 14A or 14C of the Exchange Act or (4) subject to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act. This report shall not be deemed incorporated by reference into any of our other filings under the Exchange Act or the Securities Act, except to the extent that we specifically incorporate it by reference into such filing.

The Audit Committee operates under a written charter approved by the Board of Directors, which provides that its responsibilities include the oversight of the quality of our financial reports and other financial information and its compliance with legal and regulatory requirements; the appointment, compensation, and oversight of our independent registered public accounting firms for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Certified Public Accountants LLP and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, and our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, KPMG LLP, including reviewing their independence; reviewing and approving the planned scope of our annual audit; reviewing and pre-approving any non-audit services that may be performed by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Certified Public Accountants LLP and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu or by KPMG LLP; the oversight of our internal audit function; reviewing with management and our independent registered public accounting firm the adequacy of internal financial controls; and reviewing our critical accounting policies and estimates and the application of accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Certified Public Accountants LLP is responsible for auditing our annual consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 filed with the SEC and internal control over financial reporting in accordance with the Exchange Act, and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu is responsible for auditing our annual financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 filed with the HKEx in accordance with the HK Listing Rules. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Certified Public Accountants LLP and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu are members of the global Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited firm.

The Audit Committee oversees our financial reporting process on behalf of the Board of Directors. Management is responsible for our internal controls, financial reporting process, and compliance with laws and regulations and ethical business standards. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Certified Public Accountants LLP is responsible for performing an independent audit of our consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). The Audit Committee’s main responsibility is to monitor and oversee this process.

The Audit Committee reviewed and discussed with management our audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. The Audit Committee discussed with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Certified Public Accountants LLP the matters required to be discussed by Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (the “PCAOB”), Auditing Standard No. 1301, Communications with Audit Committees, and SEC Regulation S-X Rule 207, Communications with Audit Committees. The Audit Committee has received the written disclosures and the letter from the independent registered public accounting firms required by applicable requirements of the PCAOB regarding the independent registered public accounting firm’s communications with the Audit Committee concerning independence, and has discussed with the independent registered public accounting firms their independence.

The Audit Committee considered any fees paid to Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Certified Public Accountants LLP and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu for the provision of non-audit related services and does not believe that these fees compromise Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Certified Public Accountants LLP’s or Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu’s independence in performing the audit.

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Based on the review and discussions referred to above, the Audit Committee recommended to the Board of Directors that such audited financial statements be included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, which was filed with the SEC on March 1, 2022.

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Compensation Discussion and Analysis

This Compensation Discussion and Analysis (CD&A) describes our compensation strategy, philosophy, and practices with respect to our executive compensation program for 2021. It also provides information regarding the compensation decisions made with respect to our named executive officers for 2021 and gives context for the information included in the tables that follow this discussion. For 2021, our named executive officers were:

The Compensation Committee of our Board of Directors (our “Compensation Committee”), either on its own, or, as appropriate, together with the Board of Directors, reviews and approves the Company’s compensation structure, including all forms of compensation relating to our directors and executive officers, including our named executive officers.

2021 Business Highlights

2021 marked another year of strong growth and outstanding execution for Zai Lab in all areas of our business.

Since January 2021, we have had 13 positive data readouts, of which six were in registrational or potentially pivotal clinical trials. Our/our partners’ product candidates received six breakthrough therapy designations from the US FDA or the China CDE.

We achieved regulatory submissions and approvals, including our first non-oncology approval with NUZYRA^®. We were successful in having ZEJULA included in the National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL) for first-line ovarian cancer maintenance treatment, and we expect that ZEJULA can become the leading PARP inhibitor in ovarian cancer in China, given its unique label for ovarian cancer patients regardless of biomarker status.

We significantly expanded our portfolio of potential first-in-class and/or best-in-class assets through eight strategic partnerships. We deepened our world-class gastric and lung cancer franchises with four additional promising drug candidates; bolstered our autoimmune franchise with efgartigimod, a pipeline-in-a-product opportunity; and expanded into neuroscience with an exciting anchor asset KarXT. We also made meaningful advances with our pipeline of assets with global rights, including achieving proof of concept for ZL-1102, our internally developed anti-IL-17A Humabody^® for chronic plaque psoriasis.

Our portfolio now includes 28 innovative product candidates, including 21 in clinical development, four of which have global rights. Seventeen of these 28 product candidates were in-licensed from third parties and 11 were internally developed and have global rights. With this robust product pipeline, we are on target to have at least 15 products approved and marketed in more than 30 indications by 2025.

Our commercial operations continued to drive strong momentum behind our four products marketed in greater China. Our revenues for the full year of 2021 were $144.1 million, compared to $49.0 million in 2020, representing 194% growth.

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To sustain our growth, we expanded our talented global team both in the United States and China, building a solid foundation for continuing growth and excellent execution.

Our executive compensation programs for 2021 were aligned with shareholder interests as compensation was closely linked to each individual executive’s performance achievements. The Compensation Committee also considered how each executive’s performance assisted us in achieving our 2021 goals.

As summarized in the “2021 Corporate Goals” table, we achieved or exceeded the vast majority of our corporate goals during 2021, and, accordingly, certain payouts to our named executive officers for 2021 reflected such achievements.

About Our 2021 Executive Compensation Program

From our listing on Nasdaq in 2017 through the end of 2020, we were classified as a foreign private issuer under applicable SEC and Nasdaq rules and maintained an executive compensation program with incentive metrics that were broadly aligned with similar companies. As of June 30, 2020, more than half of our investors were U.S.-based and, as a result, on January 1, 2021, we became a domestic issuer under SEC and Nasdaq rules. Our executive compensation program is designed to support our pay-for-performance culture, reflect the competitive market for skilled executives in both China and the U.S., meet the unique characteristics of our Company, and have strong alignment with the interests of our shareholders.

Because we became a domestic issuer under SEC and Nasdaq rules effective January 1, 2021, our shareholders will have their first opportunity to cast a non-binding advisory vote to approve our executive compensation program at our 2022 annual meeting. The Compensation Committee will review and consider the results of the shareholder advisory vote from the annual meeting when making future compensation decisions.

Compensation Practices and Policies

The following are key features of our 2021 executive compensation program:

Roles and Responsibilities

Role of Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee reviews, on an annual basis, our executive compensation program in light of our business goals and objectives and the business highlights and corporate performance goals we achieved for the year in order to establish the compensation for our named executive officers. The Compensation Committee may, in its discretion, adopt or recommend to the Board the adoption of, new or amended elements of our executive compensation program, to the extent our business goals and objectives have changed. The Compensation Committee currently consists of three independent directors, Peter Wirth (Chair), Nisa Leung, and Leon O. Moulder, Jr.

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In making executive compensation decisions, the Compensation Committee reviews a variety of factors and compensation-related data, including information obtained from our peer group companies, and compensation surveys comprising companies with a similar size, complexity, and industry focus as us. The Committee also considers our Company’s performance and whether we achieved or exceeded our annual corporate performance goals as well as the individual performance of each named executive officer, including the appropriate amount of total compensation that should be paid, or in the case of equity-based compensation, granted to each executive based on its assessment of these factors and data. In addition, our Compensation Committee reviews our annual bonus plan and our equity incentive plan, assesses the business achievements relevant to granting awards under these plans and makes recommendations to our Board with respect to the Company’s overall compensation policies and practices as well as the specific compensation to be awarded to our CEO.

Our Compensation Committee retains the right to hire outside advisors as needed to assist it in reviewing and making modifications to our executive compensation program. The Compensation Committee works closely with our independent compensation consultants, as well as with management, to examine the effectiveness of the Company’s executive compensation program throughout the year. The duties and responsibilities of our Compensation Committee are documented in our Compensation Committee’s written charter adopted by our Board, which can be found on our website, www.zailaboratory.com, under the “Corporate Governance” subsection of the “Investors” section of the website. The Compensation Committee also serves, along with the Board, as the administrator of our equity incentive plans.

Role of the Independent Compensation Consultant. Our Compensation Committee believes that independent advice is important in developing and overseeing our executive compensation program. From our initial public offering in 2017 through September 2020, the Compensation Committee engaged the services of Radford as its independent compensation consultant, and Radford provided consulting services with respect to our 2020 compensation determinations. Beginning in October 2020, the Compensation Committee engaged the services of Pearl Meyer to provide consulting services in relation to executive and director compensation decisions for 2021. Pearl Meyer does not provide any other services to us other than such other matters as needed and as directed solely by our Compensation Committee. Reporting directly to our Compensation Committee, Pearl Meyer provides guidance on trends in CEO, executive and non-employee director compensation, the development of the specific components of our executive compensation program and the composition of our compensation peer group.

For our 2021 CEO compensation, Pearl Meyer prepared a report that compared each element of our CEO’s compensation (base salary, target annual bonus, and target long-term incentive value) to that of CEOs at companies in our peer group. Using this and other compensation and performance information described above, our Compensation Committee recommended the elements and target levels of our CEO’s compensation for Board approval and the Board subsequently approved such recommendation.

Our Compensation Committee has assessed the independence of both Radford and Pearl Meyer in accordance with applicable SEC and Nasdaq rules and confirmed that neither firm’s work raised any conflicts of interest and that Pearl Meyer remains independent under applicable rules.

Role of our CEO.Each year, our CEO provides an assessment of the prior year’s performance of each named executive officer, other than herself, as well as an assessment of the company’s performance relative to its corporate goals, and recommends to our Compensation Committee the compensation to be paid or awarded to each named executive officer, other than herself. Our Compensation Committee makes the final determinations regarding the compensation of our named executive officers (other than our CEO, whose compensation is determined by our Board with recommendation from the Compensation Committee). Our CEO’s recommendations are based on numerous factors, including:

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Our Compensation Committee also considers our CEO’s compensation recommendations and assessment of the Company’s performance when assessing the CEO’s performance. The Compensation Committee makes a recommendation to the Board of Directors for the compensation to be paid or awarded to our CEO, and the Board of Directors makes the final determination regarding our CEO’s compensation. Our CEO does not participate in any deliberations regarding her own compensation.

Principal Objectives of Our 2021 Compensation Program

Our executive compensation program is designed to drive the creation of long-term shareholder value by awarding compensation that is competitive with companies in our peer group in order to attract and retain extraordinary leaders who can perform at high levels and succeed in a demanding business environment. Specifically, our executive compensation program in 2021 was:

Key Performance Factors in Determining Executive Compensation

The Compensation Committee (and, in the case of our CEO, the Board of Directors) considered the following performance factors in determining executive compensation: (i) whether we achieved our annual corporate goals,

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(ii) whether each individual executive met or exceeded his or performance goals, (iii) our CEO’s review and evaluation of our executive officers’ performance (other than herself), and (iv) the Compensation Committee’s assessment of our CEO’s performance, all of which are critical components in determining the compensation for our executive officers. Each factor was weighted separately in determining whether the target bonus had been achieved. Please see “Compensation Discussion & Analysis–Annual Incentive Awards” below for more discussion on this matter.

External Market Competitiveness and Peer Group

We consider market practices and trends when determining executive compensation levels and making compensation program design decisions. We do not target a specific market percentile or simply replicate market practice, but we make compensation decisions based on competitive ranges for each position. Instead, we review external market practices as a reference point to assist us in designing an executive compensation program that is tailored to the unique characteristics of our Company and is intended to attract, retain, and inspire talented leaders. To understand the external market competitiveness of the compensation for our named executive officers, our CEO and our Compensation Committee review a report analyzing publicly-available information and surveys prepared by our independent compensation consultant which, for 2021 compensation decisions, was Pearl Meyer. These reports compare the compensation of each executive officer to data available for comparable positions at companies in our peer group and, in certain circumstances, the broader market, by compensation element. The determination of our 2021 peer group was based on a search for comparable companies that approximate (i) our scope of business, including revenues and market capitalization, (ii) our global geographical reach, (iii) our research-based business with multiple marketed products, and (iv) a comparable pool of talent for which we compete. In 2020, the Compensation Committee, with support from our independent compensation consultant, conducted an analysis to determine the appropriate peer group in the context of the Company’s 2021 market capitalization. The purpose of the peer group analysis was to enable the Company to use the appropriate comparator group and third-party data sources for our annual assessment of executive compensation. For 2021, following an extensive review, the Compensation Committee determined that our peer group should be updated to reflect the Company’s evolution over the prior year and better approximate the current size and scope of our business. The 29 comparator companies below compose the peer group for 2021:

For each of the companies in our peer group, we analyze available data to identify comparable executive officers. We then compile and analyze the data for each comparable position. Our competitive analysis includes the structure and design of the executive compensation programs as well as the targeted value of the compensation under these programs. For our executive officers, we may supplement the data from our peer group with published compensation surveys.

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Principal Elements of Compensation

Our compensation objectives are achieved through the following principal elements of pay:

Annual Base Salary

We pay our named executive officers an annual base salary. Our Compensation Committee seeks to maintain salaries at competitive levels, but this fixed component of executive compensation constitutes a relatively small percentage of the executive’s total compensation. The majority of their total compensation is reserved for variable elements that depend on the achievement of both corporate and individual performance goals, thus promoting alignment between the interests of our executive officers and our shareholders.

For 2021, our Board of Directors reviewed the base salaries of chief executive officers in our peer group relative to Dr. Du’s compensation and considered Dr. Du’s capabilities, performance, and future expected contributions. Based on this analysis, the Compensation Committee adjusted Dr. Du’s base salary to better align with the market. Our Compensation Committee undertook a similar, individualized review of each executive’s performance and base salary, as well as considering peer group compensation data, when approving the base salaries for our other named executive officers. Below is a summary of the changes in annual base salary from 2020 to 2021 for our named executive officers.

Annual Incentive Awards (Bonus)

Our annual bonus program is designed to motivate and reward our named executive officers for achievement of performance that supports short- and long-term value creation for the Company. Target annual bonus opportunities are based on a percentage of the named executive officer’s base salary and actual awards are determined based on the Compensation Committee’s assessment of corporate and individual performance.

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Our CEO’s annual incentive award is weighted 75% for corporate performance and 25% for individual performance. The other named executive officers’ incentive awards are weighed 60% for corporate performance and 40% for individual performance.

Our Compensation Committee reviewed our Company’s performance with respect to our 2021 corporate goals and concluded that the Company had achieved and in some cases exceeded its 2021 corporate goals. The Compensation Committee then determined that the company multiplier for purposes of corporate performance is 130%. The table below shows the Company’s progress and achievement of its 2021 corporate goals.

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Upon review of each executive officer’s individual performance, the Board and Compensation Committee agreed that individual performance goals had been met and, in some cases, exceeded for the 2021 performance year.

Bonuses were then determined based on the individual performance ratings. Individual performance ratings were determined by the Board for our CEO, in consideration of the recommendation from the Compensation Committee, and by the Compensation Committee for the other named executive officers, in consideration of the recommendation from our CEO. As a result, actual award payouts ranged between approximately 120% and 138% of target.

The table below shows the 2021 target annual bonus for each named executive officer and the actual bonuses earned by each named executive officer.