Digital platforms have expanded vastly in China. Taking Alibaba as an example, this article reflects the limitations of Western-centric platform studies and interrogates how platformization takes place in a Chinese context. To analyze the evolution process of Alibaba, it takes the local tradition of petty capitalism as an entry point and builds an integrated framework including the state, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), venture capitals, and platform mechanisms. Based on the structural tension between the state and SMEs, Alibaba has expanded greatly by changing its relationships with the state, SMEs, venture capitals, and platform mechanisms. The integrated framework, with emphases on contextualization, historicization, and the dynamics between actors, breaks the standardized narratives of Western-centric platform studies and contributes a new approach to platformization in nonWestern societies.