China operates a self-contained cloud empire as advanced as the West’s

Evidence

The most comprehensive example of internal colonization is, of course, China, a Cloud Empire in and of itself that is as advanced as the West’s and could in the near future surpass it. In fact, it is already extending to other parts of the world not just through hardware but also through cloud computing, financial services, and artificial intelligence. Companies such as Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent are sizeable conglomerates with more diversification than their Western counterparts. — Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias, The Costs of Connection, 210

The most comprehensive example of internal colonization is, of course, China, a Cloud Empire in and of itself that is as advanced as the West’s and could in the near future surpass it. In fact, it is already extending to other parts of the world not just through hardware but also through cloud computing, financial services, and artificial intelligence. Companies such as Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent are sizeable conglomerates with more diversification than their Western counterparts. If we take early 2018 values as our vantage point (but note Tencent’s subsequent loss of approximately 150 billion), the panorama looks as follows: Baidu, with a market value of 87 billion, focuses on searches and ads but also provides services such as maps, games, tools for small business, food delivery, and electronic wallets. Alibaba, with a market value of 481 billion, specializes in e-commerce and online shopping but also offers phone payment methods, cloud services, mobile entertainment, marketing, enterprise communication, and its own operating system. Tencent, with a market value of 540.6 billion, showcases mobile chat and social networking, including the ubiquitous QQ and WeChat. — Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias, The Costs of Connection, 210

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces ‘Cloud Empire’ as a concept distinct from the Western data-colonization model — useful for scoping the data colonialist framework.
• XREF: Connects to debate over whether surveillance capitalism is a US-specific phenomenon or generalizable state-capitalist structures. — connects to: China’s cloudalists are fused with state functions that Silicon Valley lacks — Yanis Varoufakis, Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism, 579; China is rapidly displacing the West as a global data gatekeeper — Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias, The Costs of Connection: How Data Is…, 332; China prioritized cloud-capital self-sufficiency over short-term trade gains — Yanis Varoufakis, Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism, 597 (+1 more)
• SEED: The ‘internal colonization’ comparison (Russia, India, China as internal colonizers) is a strong angle for an essay contrasting the colonialism and surveillance platforms of power.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias, The Costs of Connection: How Data Is…, 210

Broader Connections

• China’s cloudalists are fused with state functions that Silicon Valley lacks #expands (0.85) — Yanis Varoufakis, Technofeudalism, 579
• China is rapidly displacing the West as a global data gatekeeper #expands (0.82) — Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias, The Costs of Connection, 332
• China prioritized cloud-capital self-sufficiency over short-term trade gains #corroborates (0.80) — Yanis Varoufakis, Technofeudalism, 597
• Cloud finance gives Chinese platforms a power Americans cannot match #expands (0.75) — Yanis Varoufakis, Technofeudalism, 582