The Politics of Autonomy in High Technology Industries in the Contemporary Chinese State

Abstract

This article examines the evolving relationship between state authority and market power through a study of the Chinese high technology and digital technology sector’s tempestuous relation with the Chinese state leadership. It studies the evolution of the relationship between the Chinese Communist Party and private capital. The article also highlights how president Xi Jinping strengthened his ideological and constitutional control of the Chinese state and the Chinese Communist Party to reshape governance structures and tighten oversight of private capital. The case of Jack Ma and state actions affecting his companies Alibaba and Ant Group, illustrate the limits of corporate autonomy under an assertive state model. The article describes the growing importance of high technology and digital industries for Chinese economy and connects the phenomenon of large-scale labour migration to urban areas with the high employment opportunities presented by these emerging sectors. The author argues that president Jinping’s crackdown on large private companies and their owners, while being a part of his larger stated mission to curb corruption, is in fact, a political tool to subjugate potential rivals. Finally, the article analyses the contemporary state of rapprochement between the digital industry leaders and president Jinping and presents the domestic as well as international economic and political compulsions which may have led to this situation.