Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are equity financial instruments that pool investor funds by issuing fund shares, where professional institutions hold and operate mature real estate assets to distribute operating income, such as rent and fees, to investors on a pro rata basis. Through REITs, originators can revitalize existing assets and recoup funds while retaining operational and management rights, shifting from asset-heavy ownership to asset-light operations. REITs establish bankruptcy remoteness to isolate the underlying assets from originators' credit risks, offering investors access to stable real estate yields and long-term capital appreciation.

On June 21, 2021, the first batch of four infrastructure REITs was listed and traded on the SZSE, marking the official launch of China’s REIT pilot program. Since then, the SZSE has continued to expand the scope of REITs underlying assets, covering mainstream sectors such as industrial parks, warehousing and logistics, transportation, energy, ecological conservation and environmental protection, water conservancy, government-subsidized rental housing, and consumer infrastructure. On December 31, 2025, the SZSE issued a series of rules governing commercial real estate REITs, and in September 2026, its first commercial real estate REITs was listed. As of the end of October 2026, 31 REITs were listed on the SZSE, raising a cumulative total of RMB 75.811 billion. A multi-tiered REIT market featuring both infrastructure and commercial real estate has taken shape, playing an active role in revitalizing existing assets, smoothing the "investment, financing, management, and exit" cycle, and supporting the development of the real economy.