In merely two decades, China has transformed from a digital newcomer to the world’s largest e-commerce market, with 800 million users and nearly 50% of global retail sales. In From Click to Boom, Lizhi Liu examines how China’s e-commerce boom is inherently "paradoxical," why it addresses a core political economy question of institutional development, and how it illuminates a digital development path for developing countries. She also explores the profound impact of e-commerce on China’s economic governance and state-business relations. The talk will draw on extensive interviews, original surveys, tens of millions of proprietary data points, and a rare field experiment conducted across three Chinese provinces.