Why China’s property bubble burst

In the early 2000s, the country had one of the biggest real estate booms seen anywhere in the world - at its peak accounting for 30% of GDP.

But in 2020 that quickly started to unravel. Now, the largest Chinese companies are being taken to court and dismantled, and property bought by ordinary citizens who invested in real estate has plummeted in value.

What went wrong, and how does the crisis affect the rest of the world?

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Presented and produced by Matt Lines

(Picture: A China Evergrande property development is in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China, in August, 2025. Credit: Getty Images)