By Iain Mills

Internet policy has long been one of the most contentious subjects in China's relationship with the outside world.

For some reason, it has become something of a cause célèbre, particularly among Western liberal media whose approach to China is often characterized by a crude obsession with a handful of issues.

These sources tend to vastly exaggerate the amount of restrictions on Chinese Internet users, a distortion that is ultimately unhelpful in attempts to understand China's Internet policy.

The real problem with China's Internet policy is not that it is too strict, or too loose, but that it lacks consistency.

Rather than outlining a clear position and justifying it with solid arguments, the government seems to operate on an almost ad hoc basis, constantly changing and making new regulations, often with no apparent logic.

Last year, the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com) was suddenly blocked. Many were confused by what threat this site posed to China's stability or moral integrity, and a few months later, it was unblocked, with no official rationale for either decision given.

Similarly, Chinese Internet users now enjoy almost totally unfettered access to information sites such as international media and Wikipedia, but Youtube remains off-limits. Among this inconsistency, it can sometimes be hard to discern a consistent policy orientation.

In some cases, China's Internet may even be too open. For example, regulations regarding publishing sensitive or patent-protected corporate information online remain largely non-existent, a clear oversight as China wishes to strengthen its knowledge economy.

As this example shows, there are many good reasons for controlling the Internet. Nearly all countries operate restrictions on obscene or offensive material as well as sensitive corporate data, documents relating to national security, and so on.

Like other governments, Chinese authorities are well within their rights to operate restriction policies according to the national situation.

With over 400 million domestic users, the Internet is clearly becoming a hugely significant force in China.

As such, it is of crucial importance that the government outlines a clear vision for the Internet's role in Chinese society, and that it makes deliberate efforts to explain these policies and convince domestic and international audiences that they are the correct path to take.

However, China has yet to develop a clear, ideologically justified set of policies, implemented over time to achieve specific policy objectives. This should be a major challenge for policymakers, who, by being more open and explicit in their actions, can help to sell China's Internet policy to both Chinese and foreign Internet users.

An important opportunity to do this was missed when China released a White Paper on Internet policy last week. The report outlined the major trends in Chinese Internet use, as well as the government's broad ideological approach, but it was lacking on policy detail.

There was no attempt to reconcile the apparent contradiction between the government's stated belief in an open Internet and the fact that China's Internet is restricted.

China may have good grounds for many of these restrictions, but it should outline these and convince users that they are justified in both theory and practice. This need to improve how the government handles its public relations also exists in other policy areas.

Often, official reluctance to allow greater scrutiny of policy decisions, even policies which are logical and beneficial, means that critical voices may gain the upper hand in public debates.

As China's domestic development continues and the country becomes more influential on the world stage, so is the need becomes greater for China to vigorously argue its case in a frank and open way, and the Internet is no exception to this.

By doing so, China can promote better understandings of its concerns and intentions and strengthen domestic and international support for them.

Many people remain uncertain of China's concerns and priorities.

By taking the debate to these people, Chinese society can contribute to better global exchange and discussion of ideas in the 21st century.

The author is a Beijing-based British freelance writer specializing in Chinese political economy. forum@ globaltimes.com.cn