Cyberspace shouldn’t be a realm for practicing law of the jungle: China Daily editorial

The ninth World Internet Conference opened in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, on Wednesday.

The world is going through tremendous changes, and some countries are doing all they can to speculate on that for their own narrow ends at the cost of creating divisions, suspicion and conflicts. In doing so, these countries deem cyberspace to be a new realm in which the law of the jungle should prevail.

China, on the other hand, regards cyberspace as a realm for international cooperation and the internet as a means to advance the well-being of humankind. Thus it advocates that countries work together to tap the potential of the technology to the fullest.

To facilitate this, China held the first World Internet Conference in Wuzhen in 2014. It has since become an annual event.

In the congratulatory letter he sent the opening of this year's three-day event, President Xi Jinping pointed out that in the face of the opportunities and challenges brought by digitalization, the international community should step up dialogue and exchanges, deepen practical cooperation, and work together to make cyberspace more vibrant, fairer and more equitable, more open and inclusive, safer and more stable.

That is why China set up the WIC International Organization in July. Headquartered in Beijing it aims to deepen international exchanges and cooperation to promote the building of a community with a shared future in cyberspace.

Those efforts should be supported by all countries that want cyberspace and information technology to serve the common interests of the world rather than the narrow ambitions of a few, so that the internet can contribute to the progress of human civilization, instead of accelerating its demise.

As Xi stressed, China is ready to work with other countries to embark on a global digital development path featuring shared digital resources, a vibrant digital economy, precise and efficient digital governance, thriving digital culture, strong digital security and mutually beneficial digital cooperation.

It has taken heavy costs — with the two world wars being cases in point — for humankind to come up with the current United Nations-centered multilateral world order and a series of norms governing international relations. We mustn't follow the same old disastrous road and repeat the same blunders in cyberspace.

With the WIC, China has set the stage for all countries to come together with goodwill to draft the rules of behavior in cyberspace so it can be to the benefit of all.