China launches tech conference with calls for “Cyber Sovereignty”
In its third year, the Wuzhen World Internet Conference remains an anomaly: A convocation of the world’s biggest tech companies in a rustic tourist village, organized by the world’s most sophisticated internet censorship bureau, the Cyberspace Administration of China, writes Eva Dou for the Wall Street Journal. Despite a new sweeping Chinese cybersecurity law, the conference was attended by Big Tech players including Facebook, Microsoft, IBM, Intel, and Tesla Motors. China’s President Xi Jinping said his country would work to uphold “cyber sovereignty,” the idea that countries have absolute control over their corners of the internet. With President-elect Donald Trump promising high tariffs for Chinese imports, and internet regulation growing tighter in China with laws requiring security reviews for IT equipment supporting critical sectors, this year’s conference shrinking from last year’s is perhaps a reflection of growing skepticism that the Chinese and U.S. visions will converge.