Delegates attend the Fourth World Internet Conference in the water town of Wuzhen, east China's Zhejiang Province, Dec. 3, 2017. The conference opened Sunday in Wuzhen. [Photo/Xinhua]

The fourth World Internet Conference concluded last week in the east China town of Wuzhen after three days of discussions and exhibitions of cutting-edge internet products. 

During the conference, government representatives, heads of international organizations, experts, scholars, and entrepreneurs attended 20 forums, displaying their innovative achievements and discussing means of cooperation. The event yielded substantial results and has further deepened international cooperation. 

Most striking is that the host nation contributed Chinese wisdom and China's ideas on global internet governance, laying a solid foundation for international cooperation in cyberspace.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, Thomas Kwesi Kwadi, vice president of the African Union, said: "This event brought together experts and decision-makers from around the world to discuss and exchange of opinions on the present status and potential developments of internet. On behalf of the African Union, I offer sincere gratitude to the Chinese government for providing us with such a good opportunity."

What he said makes clear the positive significance of World Internet Conference on the whole issue of global internet governance. China has provided feasible solutions, such as the "Nine Initiatives" issued at the first World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, the "Four Principles" and "Five Proposals" issued at the second, the "Four Goals" issued at the third, and the "Four Commons" at the latest event. 

China is contributing magnificently to systematic reform in global internet governance, and is playing an important role in building a Community of Common Future in Cyberspace.

In his speech at the opening ceremony, President Xi Jinping quoted an old Chinese proverb that, "A gentleman puts basic principles first, which will illuminate the way forward." As one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century, Internet creates a global village with convenience in international communications. 

However, the internet also faces many problems and challenges, such as uneven development, imperfect rules, irrational order, etc. It also meets difficulties and obstacles in developing for the benefit of people's lives and progress of human civilization. 

On the one hand, erosion of personal privacy, intellectual property infringements and cybercrime have occurred around the world. Network monitoring, network attacks, cyber terrorism have become a global headache. On the other hand, exceptional issues, such as the information gap among countries, the existing fragmented network order, cyberspace governance rules that cannot meet the interests of most countries, network crime and terrorism, clearly show the imbalance of internet development. 

The rules are far from perfect, and the unreasonable order becomes ever more severe. The internet's high globalization means no country is immune. The only way to global internet governance is to work together to strengthen communication, achieve consensus and deepen cooperation based on mutual respect and mutual trust. 

Yet, how to make this a reality? President Xi answered the question confidently at the World Internet Conference, that is, we must call for closer international cooperation and joint efforts to build a community of a common future in cyberspace. To respect cyberspace sovereignty and carry forward the spirit of partnership, countries need to develop together and safeguard the security aspects together. 

To make this possible, all countries should participate in internet governance and face risks with shared responsibility.

The development of the internet knows no national or sectoral boundaries. Its sound use, development and governance calls for close international cooperation and joint efforts. It is vital to find common interests amid conflicts and to handle the differences properly so as to gain satisfactory results. 

Zhang Shenglei, PhD candidate at the Social and Cultural Institution, Macao University of Science and Technology, Guest Fellow of the CCG, columnist for China Economy.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.

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