# Where Cities Get Their Funding **URL:** \ **Category:** The Happening World\ **Tags:** economic-development, china\ **Created:** [3 November 2026 15:31 UTC](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/where-cities-get-their-funding/6504 "2026-11-03T15:31:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gavin](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/439d5e/32.png) [@Gavin](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/u/Gavin)\ **Post date:** [3 November 2026 15:31 UTC](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/where-cities-get-their-funding/6504/1 "2026-11-03T15:31:47Z")
Interesting article on how Chinese municipalities are seeking alternative sources of funding now that the property market has gone bust. The underlying issue seems to be that Chinese citizens want to save rather than spend. [China’s tech boom borrowing the playbook of its property bust - Asia Times](https://asiatimes.com/2026/11/chinas-tech-boom-borrowing-the-playbook-of-its-property-bust/) _On October 28, 2026, Unitree, China’s top robotics company, released its [first quarterly report](https://www.caixinglobal.com/2026-10-29/unitrees-robot-boom-comes-with-rising-costs-inventory-102498559.html) since going public in Shanghai. Third-quarter profit fell 17.4%, even as the stock traded at more than 465 times earnings. …_ _For three decades, local governments paid for China’s build-out by selling land to developers, an engine of land finance that is stalling as the property market shrinks. Its replacement is what Chinese analysts call “equity finance,” which raises public money from shares the state holds rather than from the land it sells._ _Both models spend tomorrow’s money today. While land was a bet on people moving into cities, the new bet is that technology companies will one day earn what investors have already paid for them. …_ _Wang’s grim face on listing day answered the question of where wealth comes from in China today: from how close you stand to the people who write the rules._