Communication, Culture, and Governance in Asia | A Digital Empire in the Making: China’s Outbound Digital Platforms

Authors

  • Michael Keane Curtin University
  • Haiqing Yu RMIT University, Melbourne Australia

Keywords:

, platform capitalism, going out, Alibaba, Asia-Pacific, empire, digital Silk Road

Abstract

In this article, we use the example of e-commerce giant Alibaba and its outbound activities in the Asia-Pacific to illustrate how China’s digital platforms have become part of a “digital empire in the making.” The article examines how this emergent digital empire is a manifestation of “going out,” a term used by the Chinese government to rally the private sector (particularly platform capitalists) to internationalize, and how digital champions such as Alibaba have responded to and embraced an outward-bound strategy. Though the Asia-Pacific represents an important region for Chinese economic security, especially when one considers the established business interests there, extension of Chinese influence to central Asia conjures up a different kind of weida fuxing (great rejuvenation), one that evokes a great historical past—namely, the Chinese empire. Accordingly, we speculate on how digital technologies, platforms, and business mergers will facilitate Chinese influence along the digital Silk Roads.

Author Biographies

Michael Keane, Curtin University

Professor of Chinese Media and Cultural Studies

Haiqing Yu, RMIT University, Melbourne Australia

Vice-Chancellor's Principal Research Fellow, Associate Professor of media and communicationSchool of Media and CommunicationRMIT University, Melbourne Australia

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Published

2019-09-14

Issue

Vol. 13 (2019)

Section

Special Sections

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