Tencent: The Political Economy of China’s Surging Internet Giant

In this book, author Min Tang examines the political economy of the China-based leading global Internet giant, Tencent. Tracing the historical context and shaping forces, the book illuminates Tencent’s emergence as a joint creation of the Chinese state and transnational financial capital.

Tencent reveals interweaving axes of power on different levels, particularly interactions between the global digital industry and contemporary China. The expansion strategies Tencent has employed—horizontal and vertical integration, diversification and transnationalization—speak to the intrinsic trends of capitalist reproduction and the consistent features of the political economy of communications. The book also pinpoints two emerging and entangling trends— transnationalization and financialization—as unfolding trajectories of the global political economy.

Understanding Tencent’s dynamics of growth helps to clarify the complex nature of China’s contemporary transformation and the multifaceted characteristics of its increasingly globalized Internet industry. This short and highly topical research volume is perfect for students and scholars of of global media, political economy, and Chinese business, media and communication, and society.