Migrant Labor in China: Post-Socialist Transformations

Long known as the world’s factory, China is the largest manufacturing economy ever seen, accounting for more than 10% of global exports. China is also, of course, home to the largest workforce on the planet, the crucial element behind its staggering economic success. But who are China’s workers who keep the machine running, and how is the labour process changing under economic reform?

Pun Ngai, a leading expert in factory labour in China, charts the rise of China as a ‘world workshop’ and the emergence of a new labour force in the context of the post-socialist transformations of the last three decades. The book analyses the role of the state and transnational interests in creating a new migrant workforce deprived of many rights and social protection. As China increases its output of high-value, high-tech products, particularly for its own growing domestic market of middle-class consumers, workers are increasingly voicing their discontent through strikes and protest, creating new challenges for the Party-State and the global division of labour.

Blending theory, politics and real-world examples, this book will be an invaluable guide for upper-level students and non-specialists interested in Chinese society, politics and economy.