Prof. Pengfei Ni, a member of UrbaChina, is director of the Urban and Real Estate Economy Research Unit at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Institute of Finance and Trade Economics. He is chief editor of the Annual Report on China’s Urban Competitiveness, the Annual Report on Development of Housing Market in China and others. His main research fields are the theory and practice of urban economics, real-estate economics, spatial financial studies, and urban competitiveness. He has published over 10 papers in the Journal of International Affairs, Urban Study, China’s Social Sciences and Economic Studies. He received the highest Chinese economics award - The Sun Yefang economics Book Award – for the Annual Report on China’s Urban Competitiveness. His research is significant for China’s development and that of its cities and is a valuable resource for policy makers.