'We need a Cyber Silk Road Treaty to enable a global internet economy'

On Wednesday 16 December, following the opening ceremony by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the first day of the Second World Internet Conference was dedicated to: 'Building a Digital Silk Road for Win-Win Co-operation'.  During the whole afternoon, high level representatives from China and the International community exchanged their views on how the Digital Silk Road concept, put forward earlier this year by Cyberspace Administration of China Director Minister Lu Wei, could be effectively implemented through international co-operation on information infrastructure and through the integration of international resources and the adoption of innovative models.

China Internet Development Foundation Chairwoman Ma Li said: “There are challenges in building a Digital Silk Road. People are increasingly using the Internet and the trend brings new challenges in sovereignty, security and development interests. Building a digital silk road for win-win co-operation is not the responsibility of on single country. It is the responsibility of every person that uses cyberspace.”

ZTE CEO Shi Lirong said: “As the One Belt One Road strategy materializes, the Digital Silk Road will play an increasingly crucial role; smart cities will be core elements of this vision. ZTE will actively contribute in this process by speeding up Internet connection through the new pre-5G technology, and by providing advanced big data mining and applications through the “Smart City 3.0”. ZTE is ready to fully deploy pre-5G networks by 2016, at the occasion of the G20 meeting in Hangzhou.”

Center for European Studies at Renmin University of China Director Wang Yiwei said: “The Ancient Silk Road highlighted mutual connectivity between East and West. The 21st Century Silk Road instead highlights Internet connectivity: it will be the digital road.”

During the same afternoon, ChinaEU President Luigi Gambardella chaired a panel session featuring Chen Xu, Assistant to the President of Peking University, Liu Haijun, Deputy Director of China Information Security Magazine, Gong Fengmin, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Cyphort, Wang Yiwei, Director of Center for European Studies at Renmin University of China, Luo Dongping, President of Hillstone Networks, and Liu Yongjun, President of Beijing eHualu Information Technology.

President Gambardella also delivered an introductory speech, in which he reviewed the existing challenges for the development of a Digital Silk Road and stressed the complementarity of the European and the Chinese digital industries. He launched the idea of a Cyber Silk Road Treaty as a key tool to analyze each other’s regulations and harmonize future regulations affecting the Internet sector.

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