CS Lau has been instrumental in promoting rheumatology in Hong Kong and beyond. He presided over the Hong Kong Society of Rheumatology (1997 – 2001) and was Founding Chairman of the Hong Kong Arthritis & Rheumatism Foundation (2001). He was the President of the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine (2016 – 2020), a statutory body for medical and dental specialist training, and a key advisory body to the HKSAR Government on health-related policies. In addition, he sits on numerous strategic committees/working groups of the Health Bureau, Hospital Authority and Department of Health.

Regionally, CS Lau was President of the Asia Pacific League of Rheumatology Associations (APLAR) (2006-2008) and co-founded the Asia Pacific Lupus Collaboration. Beyond the Asia Pacific region, he was a Member of the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (1999–2002), European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) Task Force on Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment Recommendations (2019) and EULAR Scientific Committee (2019-2023). He was selected as an Honorary Member of EULAR in 2022 and a member of the Academia Europaea in 2023; and was conferred the degree of Doctor of Science honoris causa by the University of Glasgow in 2024. He is listed in the world’s top 2% most cited scientists by Stanford University.