China to host world Internet conference in Nov

Beijing, September 28

China, which tightly controls the Internet, will hold the fifth World Internet Conference (WIC) in November which is expected to be attended by delegates from several countries and international organisations.

The conference, scheduled to run from November 7-9, will be held in the river town of Wuzhen, eastern China’s Zhejiang Province, Deputy Director of the Cyberspace Administration of China, Liu Liehong said on Friday.

This year’s WIC is themed “creating a digital world for mutual trust and collective governance—toward a community with a shared future in cyberspace”, he told the media here.

China tightly controls the internet with firewalls banning any content it deems politically and administratively challenging to the one-party state ruled by the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Global internet and social media outfits like Twitter, Facebook and Google are all banned in China.

The conference has invited guests from governments, international organisations, companies, technology communities and non-governmental organisations, Liu said.

“It will further enhance the establishment of an Internet development outlook characterised by mutual trust and collective governance among countries worldwide,” Liu said.

The conference will advocate exchanges, mutual learning, cooperation and sharing in the digital fields and push for peace and development of the global cyberspace, he added.

A total of 19 sub-forums are scheduled, revolving around five themes of “innovation-driven development,” “universal security,” “openness and inclusiveness,” “in pursuit of a better life” and “common prosperity.”       

The sub-forums will cover topics such as artificial intelligence (AI), 5G and the digital Silk Road, according to Liu.

Guests will contribute their views on how to create a peaceful, secure, open and cooperative cyberspace, as well as how to set up a multilateral, democratic and transparent global Internet governance system, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

World Internet Development Report 2018 and China Internet Development Report 2018 will be released to showcase the latest academic research results in the Internet sector at home and abroad.

The event is co-hosted by the Cyberspace Administration of China and the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province.  — PTI