Prof. Fulong Wu (University College London), Dr. Tao Wang (UBS Global Research), Yue Zhang (University of Illinois at Chicago), Partha Mukhopadhyay (Centre for Policy research Delhi)

The rapid Chinese urbanisation process has been admired, much studied but perhaps still less understood than one would like. Of particular interest in this process has been the phenomenon often described as financialization and the nexus of land, urban finance and governance and the real estate industry, which by some estimates, may contribute as much as a quarter of GDP, directly and indirectly. The process of urban transformation in China is intricately imbricated with the Chinese growth model. What is the nature of this process and what implication do the recent events in the real estate industry have for the future evolution of Chinese cities and the growth model?