Asahi Shimbun:

China upholds its sovereignty in cyberspace and continually strengthens its cybersecurity. However, expats find it very inconvenient to obtain overseas information when living in China. China is getting increasingly closer with the international community while engaging in globalization. My question is: How can China strike a balance between cybersecurity and opening-up in cyberspace? Thank you.

Liu Liehong:

Thanks for your question. China's cyberspace is fully open, and the Chinese government has been promoting healthy and sustainable development in cyberspace. By the end of last year, the number of internet users in China reached 829 million and the internet penetration rate in the country reached 59.6%. With sustainable development, China's internet industry is among the top of the world both in its comprehensive strength and market scale. This has fully proved that China's internet policy is open and the country encourages innovation in the industry. However, the internet is not a lawless zone. While promoting internet development, China must also adopt necessary measures to safeguard the lawful rights of the public and safeguard cybersecurity.

According to international practice, China has introduced laws and regulations, such as the Cybersecurity Law and the Administrative Measures on Internet Information Services, to ensure that the internet is operated and used in accordance with the law. Through law-based management and governance, we will try to create a clean cyberspace and cyber ecology so that the internet can enjoy sound development under the rule of law. Thank you.