BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping called for global cooperation in technology at the opening of the World Internet Conference (WIC), an annual event that promotes China's model of cyberspace governance, as the country limits its access to advanced is facing increasing US pressure to technologies.

Hundreds of guests, including senior government officials and tech business leaders, gathered at an exhibition center in the picturesque canal city of Wuzhen near Shanghai, which has hosted the event since 2014.

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In a congratulatory letter, Xi, who recently won an unprecedented third term as China's leader, said that "international society must strengthen communication and cooperation to address the challenges and opportunities brought by digitization."
"Together, we can create a more fair, open, secure and energetic cyberspace," he wrote.

At this year's WIC, which took place immediately after the Communist Party's two-decade National Congress, Li Shulei, Xi's disciple and the party's newly appointed propaganda chief, who is now in charge of applying Beijing's ideology to cyberspace matters, said. commenced.

Many intelligent people have realized that the current global Internet management system is based on flawed rules and an unfair order.

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Li also referred to a white paper released on Monday by the country's Internet watchdog, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), which claims they aim to "build a community with a shared future in cyberspace" with China's commitment to Contribution is to be highlighted systematically.

Xi first proposed the concept of a "shared future in cyberspace" in 2015, when he personally attended the opening ceremony of the WIC.
"Since Xi proposed [his idea] at the second WIC, the event has been following his ideas every year," said Wu Hequan, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering from 2002 to 2010.

However, this year's event comes against the backdrop of China's growing economic difficulties and tight regulatory environment, as well as rising geopolitical tensions with the West.

While the conference has previously drawn big names from the Internet industry both at home and abroad, its sheen has faded in recent years due to China's ongoing regulatory crackdown on Big Tech.

A new wave of export sanctions imposed by the US in recent months, aimed at limiting China's access to advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and advanced chips, has also hurt the industry.

On Monday, the CAC's international cooperation chief dismissed US trade sanctions against Huawei Technologies Co and other Chinese tech firms, claiming that "certain countries" "maliciously block Chinese enterprises under the guise of national security". and have misused export control measures to suppress".

Because China's strict COVID-19 controls make cross-border travel difficult, several US technical officials attended this year's event virtually. These include IBM Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna, Intel Corp CEO Pat Gelsinger and Cisco Systems Chairman and CEO Chuck Robbins.

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The event was personally attended by Daniel Zhang Yong, CEO and Chairman of Alibaba Group Holding – owner of the South China Morning Post; JD.com CEO Xu Lei; and Qu Fang, founder of Xiaohongshu.