In this issue, we present three distinct perspectives on how the party-state manages and controls Chinese society. First, we consider the role of labour law in China as a vehicle for reinforcing capitalist hegemony. We then look into the limitations of the welfare system in relation to migrant labour. Finally, we challenge some widely-held assumptions about the political nature of land-related social movements in the Chinese countryside. The issue also includes a forum on how precarisation has impacted the Chinese workforce and an article that reflects on the role of poetry as a form of resistance.