再思考中共黨國與平台科技企業政企關係— 以新冠疫情前後阿里巴巴淘菜菜為例

Abstract

本研究以淘菜菜做為研究個案，探討新冠疫前後中共政府與生鮮電商平台企業間的互動關係與政策治理的動態變化。有別於習近平上任後期，大陸政商關係由政治凌駕經濟之上，甚至出現國家再集權主導，企業作為輔助的現象，本研究主要探討在新冠疫情的非正常時期，中共政府與平台公司之間的互動關係是否較符合雙向的二元互動模型，且企業是否也透過創新能力以新平台形塑新興商業管道，實現平台再中介化達到平台鞏固的目標，藉此以平台政治經濟學的理論框架，填補當前學界關於疫情前後平台科技企業與中共政府間政商關係互動變化鮮少提及的文獻缺口。對此，本研究採用阿里巴巴集團檔案、新聞資料及政府發布平台政策作為檔案與政策分析資料，同時也赴中國大陸，以半結構訪談法進一步討論新冠疫情前後中國大陸政企關係的變化。最後，本研究認為，儘管中共政府於集中整改階段的平台強監管時期，對於平台企業祭出嚴峻限制措施，但也因新冠疫情後經濟復甦的考量及平台監管逐步朝常態化治理後，淘菜菜於疫情間協助政府進行物資配送及採購農產品等政企協作項目計畫，因而使政府在後續部分肯認生鮮平台企業為輔助政經社會穩定的關鍵組成單位，致使兩者在疫情期間的政商互動模式較接近雙向互動關係，甚至在新冠疫情過後，中共政府在生鮮平台治理決策也部分放權，平台企業也試圖在生鮮經濟領域持續發揮企業能動性。

This study examines Taocaicai, Alibaba’s fresh food e-commerce platform, as a case to analyze the evolving dynamics between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and e-commerce companies before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. During Xi Jinping’s later term, politics increasingly dominated over economic interests, with the state leading and companies playing a secondary role. This research investigates whether the pandemic shifted the CCP’s model towards a more interactive, binary relationship with platforms, allowing companies like Taocaicai to shape emerging business channels with new platforms through innovation capabilities, foster platform re-intermediation and achieves the goal of platform consolidation. Using a political-economic framework, this research aims to address a significant gap in the current literature regarding how political-business relations shifts between platform enterprise and the CCP government evolved in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This research utilizes primary sources from Alibaba Group archives, media reports, platform policies of government and semi-structured interviews done in China for a nuanced view of these changes. Findings show that, while the CCP enforced strict regulations, the pandemic prompted adjustments for economic recovery, recognizing fresh food platforms as key to social stability. Taocaicai’s collaboration in material distribution led to a two-way interaction model, and even post-pandemic, CCP control remains partial, with companies still asserting influence in the fresh food sector.