Introduction

This chapter provides a historical account of the geopolitical economy of the global digital infrastructure and the role played by multinationals in configuring the global communications order. Locating the Huawei case in the international political-economic framework, it is argued that the relationship of capital, state, and class is mutually constituted. This approach offers a perspective to capture the dynamics of power structure and social relations underlying the globalization of corporate China. By contextualizing Huawei’s growth in China’s political-economic transformations and the country’s integration into global digital capitalism, this case also contributes to the theoretical discussion of the “Chinese model.”