Consensus sought with US on governance of Internet

Beijing wants to seek consensus with Washington at an upcoming worldwide network summit on how the Internet should be governed, an official at China's cyberspace watchdog said on Thursday.

Talks and communications relating to the Internet between the US and China have gone smoothly recently, said Lu Wei, director of the Cyberspace Administration of China, at a news conference in Beijing.

"I believe that we can forge more agreements and maintain Sino-US relations at the forthcoming World Internet Conference," Lu said.

To date, the conference, which will be held in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, from Nov 19 to 21, has attracted more than 1,000 applicants from nearly 100 countries and regions, the authority said.

Most of the applicants are from the United States, including government officials, Internet tycoons and cyberspace specialists, according to the authority.

"I'm looking forward to attending the Wuzhen summit, discussing Internet related issues and developing agreements with these applicants. We don't want to see cyberspace affecting Sino-US ties," Lu said.

Zhejiang Governor Li Qiang said the summit is an opportunity for the province to push forward the information technology industry.

Participants will discuss key Internet related issues, including mobile networks, cross border e-commerce, cybersecurity and online antiterrorism measures, Li said, adding that it is the first time that China has held such a highlevel cyberspace conference.

Lu said China is one of the nations worst hit by online threats, with more than 10,000 Chinese websites attacked every month, of which about 80 percent are government ones.

Lu said these threats come mainly from the US, adding that China has always taken a strong approach to those using their technical skills on the Internet to attack other countries and steal information from them.

Referring to US websites that cannot be accessed in China, such as Facebook, he said that cyberspace in China will continue to be governed by Chinese laws.

"What we do is in accordance with our laws, and all the moves we take are aimed at protecting our cybersecurity and users' interests.

"We are always friendly toward everyone, but we also have the right to decide and select those who can visit our country. ... I hope people coming to the country are our friends, and the real friends."

The nation's opening-up policy will not be changed,"but our bottom line is that everyone who comes should abide by Chinese laws," he said."Wewon't allowanyone to come and enter our market, earn money from consumers, but damage our country."

Lu highlighted the importance of laws and legal thinking in Internet governance and development, saying that the authorities will issue guidelines to deal with problems in cyberspace.

He said a rule targeting smartphone apps is on the way, following the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which ended on Oct 23. The session's theme was the rule of law.