Calvin King Lam Chung

Responding to the culture of exceptionalism in urban China studies, our article ‘Theorising with urban China’ proposed different ways of leveraging urban China cases to develop a more global urban theory. Such an approach is ambitious and requires further clarification. The generous accounts of four commentators generated big questions and reflections on two fronts: first, on the relationship between theorising and theorising with urban China, and second, on the practicalities of cross-border collaboration in urban China research. This response argues that theorising urban China and theorising with urban China are two sides of the same coin; and that the complementarities between empiricism and theorisation can be fulfilled through collaborations across the Chinese border.