Xi: China won't close doors to global internet, includes Apple and Facebook execs at cyber forum

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has stated that the country will not close its doors to the global internet but maintains that “cyber sovereignty is key in its vision of internet development.”

He stated this via a note at a cyber policy forum in Wuzhen, western China, the largest of its kind in the country, which was overseen by the Cyberspace Administration of China.

His note was read out by Huang Kumming, head of the Communist Party’s publicity department.

It continued: “The development of China’s cyberspace is entering the fast lane… China’s doors will only become more and more open.”

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This reflects the theme of the Communist Party Congress in October which emphasised that China would “only be opened wider” to international business.

However, internet regulations have increased in China over the past year with new rules requiring firms to store data locally, among other measures. China has also banned cryptocurrency trading but is said to be developing its own.

While China’s regulators say the rules are designed to protect personal privacy and counter attacks on core infrastructure, businesses feel that they are unfair toward foreign business.

The conference was attended by foreign executives such as Apple CEO Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai from Facebook, a platform currently banned in China but hoping to improve relations.

Top executives from Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu were also present.