"Any instability in China ripples through the world, and China clearly has slowed," says Schwarzman, citing IMF fgures. He should know: Blackstone has some US$200 billion of assets under management, employs 7,000 people and owns major world real estate, having closed what's called the "largest opportunistic real estate fund ever", worth a record US$13.3 billion just days before the Tsinghua conference.