JCC — pp. 1-18 2026-09-08 Original Chinese Intellectual Influencers and the Construction of Algorithmized Nationalism: The Case of Jinri Toutiao
Haiyan Wang, Zhengqing Yan, Lin Wu, Carwyn Morris
CQ — pp. 1-23 2026-07-06 Original The Emergence of Local Digital Platform Vehicles in China
Wenjia Song, Tianguang Meng
Abstract
Abstract As China’s land-financed development model faces increasing constraints, local governments have turned to public data as a new strategic resource. However, there is a governance puzzle with public data: how can the state mobilize a resource whose ownership remains legally and politically unresolved? This article examines Local Digital Platform Vehicles (LDPVs), hybrid corporations that have proliferated since the early 2010s. Drawing on data gathered from extensive interviews and an original nationwide dataset of LDPVs from 2014 to 2025, we argue that these entities enable local governments to exercise “control without ownership” by asserting authority over data flows rather than through formal property rights. Internally, control is achieved through co-shareholding, task approval, personnel and strategic partner selection, which bind market actors to local developmental objectives. Externally, LDPVs extract value by internalizing subcontractor profits, pursuing data financialization and shifting towards platform-based models. The article shows how China’s local developmental state is developing new organizational instruments for governance in the digital age.
PMR — pp. 1-36 2026-03-30 Original Citizens’ engagement in coproduction through digital platforms: a survey experiment study in China
Ninghui Li, Yanwei Li
Abstract
This study examines how administrative burden and transparency affect citizens’ willingness to engage in coproduction via digital platforms. In a preregistered vignette experiment, we find that lower administrative burden significantly increases participation, while digital transparency independently promotes engagement. Their interaction is insignificant, suggesting that the two factors operate through separate rather than synergistic mechanisms. These findings advance research on administrative burden, transparency, and digital governance by clarifying how platform design can encourage citizens’ coproduction.
JCC — pp. 1-17 2026-03-09 Original Imported Nationalism: How Foreign Influencers and Local Followers Amplify the Chinese Dream in Weibo’s Attention Economy