CCTV:
As stated, the theme of the sixth WIC is "Intelligent Interconnection for Openness and Cooperation: Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace." Mr. Liu, could you tell us why this theme was chosen? Thank you.
Liu Liehong:
Thank you for your question, and thanks for the interest of other media friends. I would also like to thank CCTV for your continuous attention to and support for the WIC. The WIC has been successfully held for five sessions since 2014. The "four principles" and "five proposals" put forward by General Secretary Xi Jinping have been widely recognized by the international community. The concept of building a community with a shared future in cyberspace has gained increasing popularity, and has helped contribute Chinese wisdom and solutions to global internet governance.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the birth of the internet and the 25th anniversary of China's full access to the worldwide web. The world today is undergoing a wider and deeper technological revolution and industrial transformation. Facing unprecedented opportunities and challenges, we need to build a community with a shared future in cyberspace. Following the trend of the times and upholding openness, equality, mutual trust and mutual benefit, the WIC thus chose to adopt the theme of "Intelligent Interconnection for Openness and Cooperation: Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace." It not only responds to international concern for artificial intelligence, 5G, financial technology, industrial internet and other technological and industrial trends, but also shows the good will for openness and cooperation. This theme will make the conference more comprehensive and in-depth, and help build a strong consensus in the international community, allowing the internet to benefit people all over the world in a better way. Thank you.
CRI:
As mentioned just now, the WIC has been successfully held for five sessions. What influence has it brought to Zhejiang province? Thank you.
Zhu Guoxian:
With five sessions successfully held since 2014, the WIC has gained increasing popularity and influence. Guests from more than 100 countries and regions attend the conference every year. The participants include important government members of other countries, heads of international organizations, as well as leading figures, experts and scholars, and heads of well-known internet companies in China and abroad. The WIC is playing an increasingly important role in promoting economic development, technological progress, better network governance and cultural exchanges.
It is fair to say that the influence of the WIC on Zhejiang is comprehensive, deep and groundbreaking. As I said just now, you have seen the growth of the WIC, and the gratifying changes it has brought. In my view, it covers the following aspects:
First, it shows a new image of Zhejiang. The changes in Wuzhen over the past five years are an important epitome of the high-quality development of the province. The WIC helps the world to know more about building a beautiful Zhejiang. Second, it offers new opportunities. The WIC has brought along new ideas, new thinking patterns and new achievements to help Zhejiang with its internet development and promotion of a digital economy, and added new drivers to the province's economic and social development. Zhejiang is implementing a five-year plan to double the growth of its digital economy and build itself into a national demonstration province in this regard. The core industries of the digital economy are developing rapidly. In 2018, Zhejiang's digital economic aggregate reached 2.33 trillion yuan, up 19.26% year-on-year, ranking fourth nationally in both the total number and the growth rate. Third, it has helped create new areas of cooperation. More and more internet companies are choosing to invest in Wuzhen and Zhejiang after the town became the permanent host of the WIC. During last year's WIC, over 20 contracts worth more than 30 billion yuan were signed across Zhejiang. In recent years, more and more internet companies and projects have settled in Zhejiang. I would like to welcome media friends here and your colleagues to experience the new atmosphere and changes in Zhejiang. Thank you.
China Arab TV:
There is about a month to go before the start of the conference. May I ask Mr. Liu, which important enterprises and important personnel will be taking part in this year's conference? Thank you.
Liu Liehong:
The WIC is a grand event for the global Internet industry and has been receiving attention from everyone. Regarding the invited guests, we have always adhered to an open attitude. We welcome representatives from governments, industries, and research institutes to gather in Wuzhen, where they can exchange ideas, promote consensus, and contribute wisdom and strength to the development of the global Internet.
Since the work began for issuing invitations for this year's conference, it received great attention and positive responses from all over the world. Currently, a number of important guests have confirmed their participation. They are from more than 70 countries and regions, including representatives from world-renowned companies such as Microsoft, Qualcomm, Cisco, Apple, Intel, Amazon, Kaspersky, SAP, Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung Electronics and Siemens, as well as from Chinese companies with international influence such as Alibaba, Tencent and Huawei, plus a number of central state-owned enterprises. At the same time, there will be a number of Internet pioneers and Internet Hall of Fame inductees, Nobel Prize winners, Turing Award winners and other internationally renowned academic representatives as well as a number of high-level representatives of foreign governments and international organizations. Thank you.
Economic Daily:
We all know that, at the annual WIC, the issuance of blue books and the Wuzhen Outlook are important achievements attracting wide attention from all sides. I would like to ask Mr. Liu, what kind of content will there be in this year's blue books and the Wuzhen Outlook, and what innovations can we expect compared with previous years? Thank you.
Liu Liehong:
Thank you for your questions. The China Internet Development Report and The World Internet Development Report, which are what everyone calls the blue books of the conference, as well as the Wuzhen Outlook, are indeed important achievements of the WIC and generate great interest both domestically and abroad.
The China Internet Development Report 2019 will review and summarize the development of the Internet in China in the past 25 years, with a focus on the latest progress, achievements and trends of China's Internet development in 2019, systematically presenting China's vivid experience and innovative practices in the accelerated progress from being a major cyber power to a strong one.
The World Internet Development Report 2019 will review the development of the Internet in the past 50 years since its birth, analyze and evaluate the global network development trends in 2019, and summarize the vivid practices and actual outcomes achieved by major countries pushing forward development of the Internet in 2019, and analyze and interpret them, while trying hard to provide new ideas and intellectual support for continued development.
The Wuzhen Outlook 2019 will elaborate the outstanding contribution of the Internet to the progress and development of human society, analyze the opportunities and challenges brought about by its development, and look forward to the beautiful vision that the international community can jointly promote the prosperity and development of the Internet. Compared with previous years, there are three major aspects of innovation this year:
The first is to review the historical achievements of Internet development. This year, we have added two chapters of "World Internet Development in the Past 50 Years" and "China Internet Development in the Past 25 Years" to the blue books being issued. They briefly review the developments of the worldwide Internet and the China Internet respectively, and set forth the profound impact of both on humanity, and how the Internet brings historical opportunities for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
The second is to look forward to future development trends. The blue books systematically analyze the opportunities and challenges brought about by Internet development, and the outlook for actively using and further developing the Internet, demonstrating our firm confidence in its bright prospects.
The third is to optimize the indicator system for Internet development assessment. The indicator system adopted in the two reports this year has further improved the basic structure, optimized the algorithm model, expanded the evaluation scope, strengthened data collection, and enhanced the indicator system's authority, scientificity and accuracy. Especially in the China Internet Development Report 2019, we have added top-10 rankings for sub-entry evaluation indexes in six aspects covering infrastructure evaluation, innovation capabilities, digital economy development, Internet applications, cyber-security and cyber-governance, providing reference and examples for various places that are promoting the development of the internet. Thank you.
China Daily:
My question is for Mr. Sheng. Last November, General Secretary Xi announced that coordinated development of the Yangtze River Delta has become a national strategy. So how does Tongxiang, a county-level city in the core area of Yangtze River Delta, play its role in the high-quality development of the area by seizing the opportunities presented by the World Internet Conference (WIC). Thank you.
Sheng Yongjun:
Friends from the media, good afternoon. First of all, thanks for your attention and support to Tongxiang and Wuzhen. Since the first WIC, Tongxiang has stepped up its efforts to upgrade social and economy development, with the digital economy becoming a distinctive feature of the local economy. These are evident in the following aspects:
First, new technology. Every year, thousands of companies choose to launch their new technologies, achievements and products in Wuzhen. The 5G town is now under construction in Wuzhen. About 50 5G-related technologies have been introduced so far.
Second, new industry. Over the past five years, the number of the companies related to the digital economy has witnessed fivefold growth. The output value of IT-based manufacturing and the income earned from the main business of information technology and software services have both registered annual growth of 50%. A batch of projects have settled in Tongxiang, including the Center for Application of Beidou Navigation Satellite System, the Base for the CETC Transformation of Scientific and Technological Achievements and Ping An Entrepreneur Town.
Third, new energy. Tongxiang is now home to 135,000 market entities, and over 100 new companies are established daily . The number of national and provincial high-tech companies has reached 1,000, a doubling in the past two years. The index of integration of information and industrialization ranks among top in Zhejiang province. And Tongxiang is among the top 10 cities in the list of the "Top 100 Best Performing Counties in E-commerce."
Currently, Tongxiang has great opportunities for advancement from the international gathering and national strategies. We will promote the city brand and take the opportunities to build Tongxiang into a digital, beautiful, graceful and peaceful city. Specifically, we will target the following aspects:
First, internet innovation. We will power the development of Tongxiang through the digital economy, platform and technology. WIC, the international platform connecting China and the world, serves as a window for representatives from internet businesses to exchange ideas. And we are willing to transfer these ideas into energy driving innovation in Tongxiang. We will build a World Internet Industrial Park, focusing on 5G, integrated circuits, artificial intelligence, big data and other new generation information industries, and launching more projects. We are working to launch programs such as the Kunpeng Ecosystem, Huawei 5G Innovation Center, Baidu Brain Innovation Center, making Tongxiang a place that is nurturing advanced technology, new products and models.
Second, modern governance. We will improve the city management, and to offer better service for the public and make governance more efficient. We have partnered with Huawei, Ping An and CTEC, working together to build Tongxiang into a smart city that is based on the technologies of big data and internet of things. We will build a "digital government" and carry out further reforms to streamline administration and strive to optimize the business environment. We will also explore the model of grassroots governance, and especially power the modern governance system with digital technology.
Third, high-quality development. Wuzhen is of great international influence. And Tongxiang city also takes the advantage of its industrial development, and its optimal location in the Yangtze River Delta. According to the overall plan, the next step will focus on connecting Shanghai and Hangzhou, to achieve more coordinated development of the Yangtze River Delta. Last year, the per capita GDP in Tongxiang reached $16,000, and this will be doubled by 2025. In addition, we plan to double the per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents, and the added value of high-tech and strategic emerging industries. All these efforts will ensure the high-quality development of Tongxiang.
Friends from the media, Wuzhen has attracted much attention from the world. And for Tongxiang, we hope there is not only development for Wuzhen, but for the wider Tongxiang city. We welcome friends from the media to visit Tongxiang and spread its stories to the world. Thank you.
The Wall Street Journal:
In recent years, departments of the Chinese government, including the Cyberspace Administration of China, have issued a series of regulatory documents to regulate the content being posted online. Regulations to monitor online information in particular, have led many Chinese enterprises to start to develop new software, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) software, to analyze and control some of the content posted online. I would like to ask will the content in those areas be an advantage for Chinese companies over their American counterparts in the future? Because a lot of American companies, including Facebook, cannot fully block videos with violent content, can they learn something from the Chinese side? Thank you.
Liu Liehong:
Thanks for your question. Companies like Facebook and Twitter are actually more adept at content checking. Some time ago, under the pretext of spreading "fake news", Facebook and Twitter banned a number of Chinese accounts that had posted objective and rational views. However, at the same time, a lot of false information that distorts facts and attacks China is rampant. It fully indicates that companies like Facebook and Twitter are actually very accurate in their content censoring, and if someone wants to learn something, they might be a better choice. Thank you.
Guangming Daily:
We know that, the WIC promotes the building of Zhejiang's digital economy and its digital government. This year, Zhejiang continues to deepen reforms in promoting greater work efficiency to benefit the public, known as "without the need for a second trip." So, what are the latest developments in this area? Thank you.
Zhu Guoxian:
I used to be a journalist for 30 years. I think journalists may prefer stories and examples, so I would like to give you an example first. The City Brain, jointly created by Hangzhou City and the Alibaba Group, brings together data from more than 70 departments and enterprises every day, with an average of more than 80 million bits of new data added daily, including 11 major systems such as police affairs, transportation, urban management, cultural tourism, healthcare and 48 application scenarios. These are bringing about new changes in people's daily lives in all aspects. Take urban transportation as an example. Hangzhou has an elevated highway across the city, which is 22 kilometers long. Since it was added to the City Brain, people's travel time has been cut by an average of 4.6 minutes, or 10% compared to before. The traffic signals at 104 intersections in Xiaoshan District have been automatically controlled, and the passing speed of vehicles has increased by 15%, saving three minutes on average in daily journeys. The Hangzhou city management department has also deployed an easy parking system. Users are only required to swipe the QR code once and it's valid across the entire city for life. Until now, there are 303,000 parking spots covered by the "drive away first and pay later" system, which has greatly increased the convenience of city parking. After optimizing traffic management through the City Brain, traffic congestion in Hangzhou has been eased significantly. The traffic delay index has dropped from 2.08 in 2014 to about 1.64 at present, and the ranking of traffic congestion has dropped from second place in the country in 2014 to the 35th place last year. One more example is the healthcare system. The City Brain has launched a "diagnose first and pay later" service, in which patients can seek medical treatment in a more relaxed way with more simplified medical fee payment procedures. Presently, 245 public medical institutions in Hangzhou have access to the system.
We feel that, the WIC brings about not only industrial dividends and economic benefits to Zhejiang, but also the transformation of concepts and the innovation of methods in government services. The CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee and the Zhenjiang Provincial People's Government is vigorously promoting digital transformation. On the one hand, we strive to optimize the business environment, and promote the development of big data to provide the greatest public convenience so that people don't have to be kept constantly on the run to get things done. It is can be said that our officials' painstaking efforts have achieved a happier life for our people. The app platform of the General Office of the People's Government of Zhejiang Province has gathered 415 service applications, and currently the whole process of starting a business can be done online. On the other hand, we use big data, AI and other technologies to improve the efficiency of government management. For example, the provincial government has launched the "Internet plus supervision" approach. As many as 98.84% of law enforcement personnel in the province have opened 61,500 accounts, and this has achieved a daily average of more than 22,000 online law enforcement activities. It can be said that the digital transformation of government has continuously improved administrative and work efficiency, through which people can get their business done quickly "without the need for a second trip." Thank you.
China News Service:
Mr. Liu, a face-changing artificial intelligence app called ZAO gained immense popularity in China not long ago. However, some online users accused it of infringing individual privacy and imposing unequal provisions. What does the Cyberspace Administration of China think about these new technologies and applications? How will the administration supervise the development of new technologies and applications? Thank you.
Liu Liehong:
Thank you for your question. While creating opportunities for development, the new technologies and their applications also do pose risks and challenges threatening cyberspace security. As a regulatory body, the Cyberspace Administration of China has been proactively countenancing the development new technologies and applications while taking necessary measures to avoid possible risks. We have formulated and ratified a host of laws, regulations and standards, such as, "regulations on the safety assessment of cyberspace information service" and "norms of personal information security". We are now working at regulations on network ecological governance and soliciting public opinions. By establishing these laws, regulations and standards, we guide and supervise Internet companies to conduct safety assessment and regulate the development of new technologies and applications. We have also acted against some apps that have engaged in unlawful collection of personal information to guarantee the safety of personal information, privacy and legitimate rights of online users. Thank you.
Hong Kong Economic Herald:
Mr. Liu, could you please brief us on the highlights of the World Leading Internet Scientific and Technological Achievements this year? Thank you.
Liu Liehong:
Thank you for your question and your interest in the World Leading Internet Scientific and Technological Achievements. Now, the collection of leading scientific and technological achievements of the 6th WIC has been completed. In accordance with the principles of "fairness, impartiality, objectivity and authority," the Recommendation Committee for World Internet Leading Scientific and Technological Achievements of the 6th WIC, composed of nearly 40 Chinese and foreign experts, was established. Currently, their work is coming to an end.
Compared with previous years, the technologies we have collected this year are more diversified, and there will be some new changes in the form of release.
First, more categories are covered. Starting this June, we collected leading scientific and technological achievements in five categories, namely, product, business model, basic theory, technology, and general category. These cover almost all Internet-related fields, including AI, 5G, big data, cloud computing, digital manufacturing and the industrial internet.
Second, more entities are involved. Many companies submitted their research achievements, including foreign companies such as Microsoft, SAP, LinkedIn, Oracle, and Tesla, domestic companies like China Mobile, China Telecom, China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, Huawei, Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, as well as famous universities such as Tsinghua University, Zhejiang University and Xi'an Jiaotong University. This collection also attracted many SMEs and innovation teams.
Third, innovation is being emphasized more strongly. This year, many innovative scientific and technological achievements have received close attention from the Recommendation Committee. Therefore, we will add a part of recommendation at the release event, so that more innovative achievements can be displayed. Thank you.
Xi Yanchun:
Again, thanks to the three speakers, and thank you all. Today's briefing is hereby concluded.
