US, Chinese re-connect on cyber talk

Lu Wei (right), minister of State Internet Information Office, talks to students and faculty at the George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs on Tuesday afternoon in a seminar moderated by Philip Crowley, the former US assistant secretary of state for public affairs who is now teaching at the George Washington University. Chen Weihua/China Daily.

While the China-US working group on cyber security has been suspended following the US decision in May to indict five People's Liberation Army officers for cyber espionage, bilateral contact seemed to resume in a way as senior officials, scholars and executives from Internet and telecom giants of both countries assembled in Washington on Tuesday.

The 7th China US Internet Industry Forum on Dec 2-3 drew some 150 participants, including Lu Wei, minister of the State Internet Information Office, which manages Internet information in China, and Catherine Novelli, the US under secretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment.

In his keynote speech, Lu made several suggestions, including that China and the US should appreciate each other instead of engaging in mutual denial.

He cited the fact that China has become the world's largest Internet market with more than 4 million websites, 600 million Internet users and four of the world's top 10 Internet firms. Online commerce is set to hit $2 trillion this year and keep growing at 30 percent a year.

"These achievements are a demonstration of the openness and good governance of China's Internet industry,"he said.

Lu pointed out that the two countries should also respect each other instead of engaging in confrontation and accusation. "We should respect each other's cyber sovereignty, Internet governance, major concerns and cultural differences,"said Lu, who assumed his post in April of last year.

"The success of the Internet in China over the past two decades shows that successful foreign companies in China respect China's market environment and abide by China's laws and regulations,"he said.

The Internet forum was first started seven years ago by Microsoft and the Internet Society of China. This year's meeting focuses on big data cloud service, Internet connectivity, governance and its impact on economic development and social benefits.

Lu called for mutual governance in the cyber world instead of each country serving its own interests. "A responsible major country should never restrain others for its own development, or infringe on other countries' security to protect its own interests,"he said.

The 54-year-old former vice-mayor of Beijing believes the two countries should enhance mutual trust instead of mutual suspicion.

"With wisdom and courage, cyber security will not become a source of conflict in China-US relations, but a new bright spot of cooperation,"he said.

He proposed that China and the US engage in win-win cooperation instead of zero-sum games.

Lu described the two-decade Internet history in China as 20 years of mutual benefit, win-win and integration with the US and differences should not obstruct bilateral cooperation.

In Lu's views, the bilateral relationship in cyberspace is generally positive despite occasional hurdles.

He described it as "deep fusion and high mutual stakes", citing the examples that half of the profit for Qualcomm, a US telecom giant, as coming from China, and half of the new users of Apple products are in China.

Meanwhile, some 50 Chinese Internet firms are listed in the US, with market capitalization of nearly $500 billion.