The flow of international capital has changed people’s world-views and life-styles. World cities are reaching outwards to compete, collaborate and survive in a much transformed global order. Topics for research training include the historical flow of finance capital between China, India, the Middle East and Europe; Hong Kong as an art-collecting hub and its impact on the international art market; the repositioning of the middle class in these volatile global cities; cosmopolitan imaginings in Shanghai’s urban planning; economic life and work ethics of city youth today; and the experiences of Chinese family businesses as the powerhouse for China’s global economic expansion. There are 4 sub-projects with interrelated themes.

• Financial Integration History between China and the World (PI: Chen Zhiwu, Yale University)
• Everyday Life in Global Shanghai: The Economic Life and Work Ethics of Shanghai Youth Today (PI: Jiang Jin, East China Normal University)
• Shanghai: Global City Aspirations and the Transformation of the Everyday (PI: Wang Xiaoming, Shanghai University)
• Collecting Chinese Art in Hong Kong: A Global Phenomenon (PI: Jenny So, Chinese University of Hong Kong)