Abstract
Technological innovation is occurring at an ever-increasing pace and the world that we live in is more interconnected and globalized. There is no doubt that China has been considered as one of the world’s largest investors and adopters of digital technologies, and exerts a large influence on the global digital economy. So, in this chapter, we focus on the situation of digital labour and the development of the sharing economy in China. Why has China, a country with a population of 1.3 billion, experienced a boom of the sharing economy since the year 2016?
In order to understand this, it is essential to explore briefly notions like “HE” (Harmony) and “Tian Xia” (All under Heaven) in the Chinese traditional culture. On the other hand, from bikes to houses, we will discuss how these shared products change people’s daily life and guide their emotions. What’s more, through some theories of emotional sociology, we will investigate the politics of sensibilities as applied to consumption in Society 4.0, which is closely related with the virtual world or the mobile world. What is the situation of social mass media in China, as compared with the other countries at a global level?
Last but not least, we will analyse some relevant works about the prediction of the development of Society 4.0 and China’s influence as a leading global force, as well as the conjecture about the relationship between the sensibilities and the sharing economy.
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Notes
- 1.
The Chinese economic reform (also called reform and opening-up policy) refers to the program of economic reforms termed “Socialism with Chinese characteristics” in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) that was started in December 1978 by reformists within the Communist Party of China, led by Deng Xiaoping who was the paramount leader of the People’s Republic of China from 1978 until his retirement in 1989.
- 2.
McKinsey Global Institute, China’s Digital Transformation: The Internet’s Impact on Productivity and Growth (July 2014). http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/high-tech/our-insights/chinas-digital-transformation
- 3.
State Council, China Unveils Internet Plus Action Plan to Fuel Growth (4 July 2015) http://english.gov.cn/policies/latest_releases/2015/07/04/content_281475140165588.htm
- 4.
https://www.randstad.gr/ugc/wf360/Randstad-Flexibility@work-2016.pdf. Maarten Goos, Jozef Konings and Emilie Rademakers. Future of work in the digital age: evidence from OECD countries.
- 5.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/881227/use-of-sharing-economy-services-by-country. Share of people who have used or provided sharing economy services worldwide in 2018, by country. Statistics published by the statistics Portal.
- 6.
Zhu Lingqing. (4 June 2018). “China’s sharing economy to grow 30% per year”. Chinadaily. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201806/04/WS5b14d719a31001b82571e031.html
- 7.
http://www.chinoiresie.info/PDF/Made-in-China_3_2017.pdf, Vol 2, Issue (3) 2017; Made in china. A Quarterly on Chinese Labour, Civil Society, and Rights. Chinese labour in a global perspective.
- 8.
http://www.sic.gov.cn/archiver/SIC/UpFile/Files/Default/20180320144901006637.pdf (中国共享经济发展年度报告2018).
- 9.
Sharing Economic Work Committee of Association of China Internet is 中国互联网协会分享经济工作委员会 (in Chinese).
- 10.
The data is from the “China’s Annual Report on Shared Economic Development (2018)”.
- 11.
The information is from CCTV news. http://m.news.cctv.com/2017/06/01/ARTI6BcoBzDbrpAwS5q8oC2P170601.shtml
- 12.
The data is from the “China’s Annual Report on Shared Economic Development (2018)”.
- 13.
The data is from the “China’s Annual Report on Shared Economic Development (2018)”.
- 14.
In China, some applications and websites are not available, such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
- 15.
Nha Thai, 10 Most Popular Social Media Sites in China. https://www.dragonsocial.net/blog/social-media-in-china/
- 16.
The data is from the “China’s Annual Report on Shared Economic Development (2018)”.
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Jingting, Z. (2019). “Sharing Economy, Sharing Emotions” in the Society 4.0: A Study of the Consumption and Sensibilities in the Digital Era in China. In: Scribano, A., Lisdero, P. (eds) Digital Labour, Society and the Politics of Sensibilities. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12306-2_8
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