Digital Infrastructure in the Chinese Register

Abstract

Science and technology studies now include a significant literature that examines the practices and meanings of 'digital infrastructure'. This literature can help us to understand some of the importantly different aspects of digital infrastructure in China. In particular, it illuminates ways in which physical and digital infrastructures in China are tightly interwoven, and highlights the importance of examining the relationships between digital infrastructure, human bodies, and labour. These entanglements suggest that digital infrastructure in China is playing an increasingly important role in shaping the relationships between citizens, corporations, and the state.