The storyline of Chinese real estate is filled with tales of outbound investment. Headline stories and analyses from all types of media outlets focus on China-based insurance companies and financial institutions with global ambitions acquiring trophy hotel and office assets in gateway cities in the Untied States and Europe, Chinese real estate developers launching ambitious mixed-use residential and retail development projects in places such as Sydney and London, and Chinese investor consortiums making strategic investments in real estate–related operating companies in diverse industries such as student housing or senior living and healthcare facilities. Recently, a new storyline has been added to the narrative, concentrating on looming restrictions on outbound real estate investment from China, as governmental regulators attempt to curtail outbound capital flows and boost the domestic economy.

Chinese governmental policies, official and unofficial, act like a door, grantin