Workers and trade unions in China

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about labourdialectics.org, Chinese labor and labour — state owned enterprises (SOEs), trade unions, the gig economy, platform workers, Marxism, Mao Zedong, Xi Jinping, and transitional socialism — answered by Immanuel Ness in Dialectics of Chinese Labor.

What is labourdialectics.org?
labourdialectics.org is the official website for Dialectics of Chinese Labor by Immanuel Ness — the open-access home for the book, author biography, blog essays on Chinese labor, FAQ, and contact information.
What is Dialectics of Chinese Labor?
Dialectics of Chinese Labor is a 2026 open-access book by Immanuel Ness, published by Brill. Subtitled Trade Unions under Market Socialism, it examines the Chinese working class, labour unions, Marxism, and communism through on-the-ground research conducted across China in 2024–2025.
Who is Immanuel Ness?
Immanuel Ness is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Johannesburg and author of Dialectics of Chinese Labor. His scholarship applies Marxism to the Chinese working class, labour unions, and communism — from the era of Mao Zedong to the leadership of Xi Jinping.
Where can I read Dialectics of Chinese Labor for free?
Dialectics of Chinese Labor is published open access under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. Read the full 243-page book free on this official site or download the PDF from De Gruyter Brill (DOI 10.1163/9789004761490). No paywall or registration required.
How do labour unions operate in China under Xi Jinping?
Under Xi Jinping, China's labour unions remain organized through the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), the world's largest union body. In Dialectics of Chinese Labor, Immanuel Ness argues that union density and workplace representation have grown — particularly for delivery riders, platform workers, and migrants — within a party-led framework that blends market reforms with socialist institutions.
How does Mao Zedong's legacy relate to the Chinese working class today?
Mao Zedong placed the working class at the centre of communist revolution and state legitimacy. Immanuel Ness shows in Dialectics of Chinese Labor how that legacy still shapes labour unions, Marxism, and communism in China — even as the economy has moved toward market socialism under leaders including Xi Jinping.
What does Marxism say about communism and labor in contemporary China?
From a Marxist perspective, labour is the source of value and class struggle persists under capitalism — and, Ness contends, under transitional forms of market socialism. Dialectics of Chinese Labor applies Marxism to ask whether Chinese communism has strengthened or weakened the working class and labour unions under Mao Zedong and Xi Jinping.
What are state owned enterprises (SOEs) and how do they shape Chinese labor?
State owned enterprises (SOEs) remain central to China's industry and modernization, employing millions of workers under Communist Party of China oversight. In Dialectics of Chinese Labor, Immanuel Ness examines how SOEs, labour-management relations, and union affiliation within the All-China Federation of Trade Unions shape politics and class formation under market socialism.
How does the gig economy affect workers in China's platform economy?
China's gig economy — including food delivery workers and ride-hailing drivers — has grown rapidly alongside technology and urbanization. Immanuel Ness documents how platform workers organize, seek union affiliation through the ACFTU, and navigate labour-management relations in sectors once dominated by state owned enterprises (SOEs).
How does the Communist Party of China relate to trade unions and democracy?
The Communist Party of China leads the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), the world's largest trade union body. Ness argues that union density and workplace representation have expanded — but within a party-led framework that blends capitalism, market reforms, and socialist institutions rather than Western liberal democracy.
What is transitional socialism and how does it relate to Vladimir Lenin and Mao Zedong?
Transitional socialism describes China's path from Mao Zedong's revolutionary communism toward market socialism under modernization and global inequality. Drawing on Marxism and Vladimir Lenin's concept of a reserve army of labor, Immanuel Ness asks whether this transition strengthens workers, trade unions, and class power across industry, migration, demographics, and the rural sector.
What is the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU)?
The All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) is China's official trade union federation and the world's largest union body, led by the Communist Party of China. In Dialectics of Chinese Labor, Immanuel Ness examines ACFTU union affiliation, labour-management relations, and whether workplace representation is expanding for SOE, migrant, and platform workers.
How do urbanization, migration, and the rural sector affect Chinese workers?
Urbanization and migration have reshaped China's demographics — moving hundreds of millions from the rural sector into industry, SOEs, and the gig economy. Ness shows how these shifts affect class formation, global inequality, reserve armies of labor, and trade union politics under transitional socialism and Xi Jinping.