BEIJING: China’s renewed commitment to take forward the building of a community with a shared future in cyberspace will propel greater global cooperation and exchanges in the internet sector and help narrow the global digital divide, analysts and industry insiders said.
President Xi Jinping highlighted the need to continue with efforts to build a community with a shared future in cyberspace during a speech via video link to the opening ceremony of the 2023 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit on Wednesday.
He made an appeal for the international community to deepen international exchanges and cooperation in the digital domain, expand the availability of information technology services, narrow the digital divide, and better ensure public well-being through the development of the internet.
Xi’s speech came eight years after he delivered a landmark address at the Wuzhen conference in 2015, in which he presented Beijing’s major principles and proposals for global internet governance.
Ouyang Rihui, a professor of digital economics at the Chinese Internet Economy Research Institute at the Central University of Finance and Economics, said that Xi’s latest remarks showcased a strong sense of responsibility for global cyberspace development and presented a vision for the more inclusive development of the internet sector.
He said that reducing the digital divide involves narrowing gaps between nations, regions, sectors and population groups. “It also involves narrowing the divide in the access, usage and knowledge of digital technology.”
Bridging the digital divide would require more proactive efforts from the government and platform companies as well as joint efforts from different countries, he added.
According to a report published by the Chinese Academy of Cyberspace Studies, China has been actively engaged in building global internet infrastructure to expand the coverage of the internet, including helping nations build optical fiber and base station networks and improving global digital connectivity network.
For instance, Chinese businesses helped South Africa to develop the first 5G network in Africa. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item