In the past China’s capital market featured prevalent state ownership and a weak legal environment. It has, however, achieved very substantial development in the past two decades. China has surpassed Japan as the world’s second-largest stock market and has also emerged as a leading player in green bonds and Fintech markets. The chapters in this book provide insights on Chinese listed firms and advance the understanding of China’s unique institutions. Some important questions are covered including the governance role of foreign investors in partially privatized firms, the financial implications of political connections, the "Chinese model" of commercial banks and regulatory reforms that promote the marketization of the stock markets, among others. These studies have important implications for other emerging economies, on the recent China-US trade conflicts and about the Trump administration's complaints about the role of the Chinese government in capital markets.

This book selectively includes the most influential articles from two special issues of The European Journal of Finance, which were based on selections of papers presented at a series of conferences on the Chinese Capital Markets.

Chris Adcock is Professor of Quantitative Finance at SOAS – University of London, England. He was previously Professor at the University of Sheffield, England, and visiting Professor at the Universities of Durham and Southampton, England. His research interests include portfolio selection, asset pricing theory, and quantitative techniques for portfolio management. He is the Founding Editor of The European Journal of Finance.

Douglas Cumming is the DeSantis Distinguished Professor of Finance and Entrepreneurship at the College of Business, Florida Atlantic University and a Visiting Professor of Finance at University of Birmingham. He has published over 175 articles in leading refereed academic journals in entrepreneurship, finance, and management.

Alessandra Guariglia is Professor of Financial Economics at the University of Birmingham, UK. Her research focuses on the link between macroeconomic activity and finance and the economics of transition in China, and her research has been published in journals such as the Review of Finance, the Journal of International Economics, and the Journal of Corporate Finance.

Wenxuan Hou is a Chair in Corporate Finance at the University of Edinburgh Business School, Special-term Professor at Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance and Co-chair of RSE Young Academy of Scotland. His research covers corporate and legal institutions of emerging economies and he has published 40 articles in various international journals.