CHINESE NET STATES AND PLATFORM-BASED GOVERNANCE IN CHINA: IMPLICATIONS FOR COMPARATIVE NET-STATE ANALYSIS

Abstract

This study applies Imaginative Public Administration (IPA) and digital sovereignty as analytical frameworks to investigate Chinese net states within platform-based governance. Drawing on a qualitative, theory-driven literature review and conceptual synthesis, it examines Tencent, Alibaba Group, Baidu, and Huawei as net states that perform state-like functions through platform infrastructures. The findings demonstrate that China has institutionalized a party-state capitalism model in which political authority is embedded within major technology firms, enabling net states to function as strategic branches of the party-state. In contrast, Russia relies primarily on coercive regulation rather than infrastructural integration. The study advances net-state analysis by positioning platform governance as central to digital sovereignty.

Keywords: Digital Sovereignty, Platform Governance, Net States, Party-State Capitalism, Authoritarian Governance, State-Platform Relations, China