The second US-China Internet Industry Forum jointly hosted by the Internet Society of China (ISC) and Microsoft Corporation kicked off in Shanghai on November 7. The two-day forum attracted over 140 experts and representatives of major Internet companies in the two countries.

With the theme of "development and cooperation", the participants will discuss topics including cutting-edge technologies and their applications, Internet information dissemination, Internet security and Internet regulation.

Huang Youyi, president of China Internet Information Center presided over the opening ceremony and introduced the keynote speakers: Cai Mingzhao, vice minister of the State Council Information Office, Hu Qiheng, president of the Internet Society of China (ISC), Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer of Microsoft, Ya-Qin Zhang, chairman of Microsoft China, and Bea Camp, US Consul General in Shanghai.

Cai Mingzhao said that while the United States was the originator of the Internet, and the world leader in networking technology, China has the largest population of Internet users in the world, and therefore is a huge market for Internet applications.

Cai said that 2008 was a year of accelerated growth in the development of China's e-commerce and wireless Internet services. National e-commerce turnover reached 1.7 trillion yuan in 2007, a 54.5 percent rise over 2006. The number of online shoppers had reached 63.29 million by the end of June, 2008, a 36.4 percent growth in just six months. The Ministry of Commerce has forecast that within a decade 70 percent of trade turnover will be done through online transactions, and e-commerce will become the mainstream commercial model.

On the other hand, because of the global nature of the Internet, international cooperation is essential for promoting its healthy and orderly development. According to statistics from the Internet Society of China, in 2007, 77 percent of online attacks on Chinese mainland websites were from abroad, and 50 percent of junk emails were sent through overseas-based servers. Over the past four years, the China Internet Illegal Information Reporting Center has received 391,000 complaints about online pornographic information, of which 81 percent involved websites hosted in the United States. "Dissemination of pornographic information through the Internet violates Chinese law and goes against China's traditional culture. Such information is greatly detrimental to youngsters. All countries in the world including the United States and China should take initiatives to enhance effective governance of the Internet, and prevent problems on their domestic Internet from affecting the online order and impairing the public interest in other countries," said Cai.

The number of Internet users in China is growing by 240,000 per day. At this rate, the number of Chinese Internet users will reach 500 million in three to four years. "The Chinese Internet market is huge and has great potential. We sincerely welcome businesses from across the world to come and share the development opportunities in this market, with their technological achievements, and their modern concepts of service and management," concluded Cai.
According to ISC President Hu Qiheng, in June 2008, China had a total of 253 million Internet users, up 91 million from the same period last year, a year-on-year growth of 56.2 percent, the fastest annual growth rate ever seen. The number of websites has reached 1.9 million. The international bandwidth used has reached 493.7 Gbps.

"I believe the numbers will continue to grow," said Hu. "This forum will further deepen our mutual understanding and communication, and promote cooperation between China and the US."

Craig Mundie, Microsoft's chief research officer said, "It is indeed an exciting time for the Internet here in China and globally. Technology is spreading at a rapid pace, China will be the largest PC market in world in 5 years. The Internet is the 21st-century manifestation of a basic, personal desire to connect, to transcend borders, to benefit from the free flow of information. There is the potential for a huge positive impact on global society. But the Internet also compels us to think in new ways about business models, security, privacy, identity, borders, policy and regulation. These are complex issues that need to be tackled collaboratively, as we are doing here."

He urged businesses, researchers, scientists, and educators around the world to collaborate, share data, stay globally connected, and preserve open access to information.

The US-China Internet Industry Forum is an annual event to facilitate exchange and cooperation between the Internet industries of the two countries. The first forum was held in November 2007 in Seattle.

Source: China.org.cn