Beyond social empowerment and state control: a systematic review of the roles of new media in China’s state–society relations

The rapid expansion of digital technologies and social media has introduced new dynamics into China’s political life. This study conducts a systematic review of 38 studies on the role of new media in China’s state–society relations, examining media types, functions, and research methods. The findings largely confirm existing scholarly consensus. New media enables information access, civic expression, and forms of grassroots participation, while the state makes extensive use of digital platforms to reinforce control through propaganda, censorship, and the management of public sentiment. At the same time, the results point to patterns that are not fully captured by the conventional binary of control and empowerment. In particular, political participation is increasingly individualized, allowing citizens to engage with the state directly without relying on formal organizations; platform companies have become important intermediaries shaping communication and governance processes; and forms of collaborative and mutually embedded interaction between state and societal actors are becoming more visible. These patterns suggest that new media is not only redistributing power between state and society, but also reshaping the form of their interaction, with implications for how civil society is understood in the Chinese context. In terms of research methods, the reviewed studies show a strong preference for qualitative case studies, with relatively limited use of quantitative approaches.