Beyond employees and contractors: Mapping China’s platform-based gig workers

The rise of platform-based work in China, engaging an estimated 84 million individuals, mirrors a global shift in how labour is organized and experienced. This digital transformation has sparked critical academic and policy dialogue regarding the adequacy of traditional labour law categories. Historically, legal frameworks have relied on a binary distinction between employees and independent contractors. However, the diverse reality of platform work—characterized by varying levels of algorithmic management and economic dependency—frequently blurs these boundaries, creating a "gray zone" that challenges conventional governance models.

In recent years, the discourse in China has evolved toward addressing this complexity by focusing on the functional nature of the work relationship. Rather than strictly adhering to a binary threshold, there is an increasing move toward recognizing the nuances of workers who exhibit certain characteristics of subordination without necessarily fitting the classical mold of a full-time employee. The focus is shifting toward ensuring a baseline of essential protections that follows the worker, regardless of their specific classification, particularly for those subject to significant enterprise-level control during the labour process. Our research contributes an empirical foundation to this global dialogue by moving beyond conceptual debates over legal "tiers" to examine the actual working scenarios of platform participants. Utilizing a robust dataset of over 7,000 food-delivery riders across five diverse Chinese cities, we capture a broad spectrum of the platform economy, from first-tier digital hubs to industrial centers in transition. By proposing a simplified measurement strategy that identifies varying degrees of subordination and autonomy, we are able to analyze how different work configurations are distributed and how working conditions or protection gaps vary across groups. Ultimately, this evidence-based approach provides the clarity necessary to design inclusive protection systems that respond to the multifaceted realities of the modern digital economy.

A key premise of our study is that platform workers are not homogeneous. Platforms aggregate workers with very different degrees of economic dependence and managerial control, which shapes both working conditions and the type and urgency of protections workers need. Treating “gig workers” as a single group can hide this internal stratification—and lead to policy tools that fit some workers while missing others.

To capture the heterogeneity of platform labour, we adopt an empirical framework grounded in the dual concepts of economic dependency and personal subordination—benchmarks utilized by institutions like Eurofound but seldom applied at scale in emerging economies. In our study, we operationalize economic dependency as relying on the platform for more than 50% of total income, while personal subordination is measured by the degree of autonomy riders retain over their schedules, order selection, contingency handling, and the right of substitution.

The primary advantage of this approach is its practical observability; while riders may find it difficult to navigate the "contractual fog" created by complex subcontracting or labour agencies, they can accurately report their income sources and daily operational constraints. By focusing on these worker-reportable dimensions, we can look past formal labels to reveal the substantive reality of the labour relationship and provide a clearer picture of worker vulnerability in the digital economy.

Our clustering results provide clear evidence of heterogeneity within China’s gig rider population. We identify four subtypes of platform workers. Strikingly, only about 19% of riders fit neatly into the existing binary employment-status framework: they resemble standard employees. The remaining 81% fall outside the binary and show great diversity in terms of economic dependency and personal subordination. Within this majority, the most prominent pattern is a mixed configuration: high economic dependency combined with partial personal subordination. Many riders rely heavily on platform income while still facing meaningful—though not always total—control over their labour process. This places them in a structurally disadvantaged position: they bear risks associated with self-employment while experiencing constraints more typical of managed labour.

We also find that economic dependency and personal subordination relate to working conditions in distinct ways. High economic dependency is strongly associated with longer working hours, greater work intensity, and higher perceived pressure. High personal subordination is more strongly associated with lower job satisfaction, consistent with reduced autonomy and a diminished sense of control at work. Protection gaps are also patterned. Social insurance coverage is particularly inadequate among subtypes with higher levels of subordination—precisely the workers who face tighter control over the labour process.

Taken together, this China-based analysis adds to global debates about the internal complexity of platform work and speaks directly to the policy challenge: The multifaceted nature of platform work suggests that traditional binary legal paradigms may not fully capture the diverse realities of these new digital arrangements. Identifying and understanding the diversity of the platform workers is an important step toward improving protections and working conditions—especially through serious implementation of the baseline rights already envisioned in relevant policy frameworks.

For reference:

• In search of quasi-subordinate workers in China: A typology of gig riders by economic dependency and subordination
• Revised labor rules sought as gig work rises
• 关于确立劳动关系有关事项的通知
• Identifying Labor Relationship Involving "Workers Hired Through Internet" and Protection of Their Interests - 中国知网
• Third Employment Category for Platform Workers in China: A Tough Start | The Chinese Journal of Comparative Law | Oxford Academic
• Internet Platform Employment in China : Legal Challenges and Implications for Gig Workers through the Lens of Court Decisions
• Dependence and precarity in the platform economy