Kenneth Jumba Photo: Courtesy of Jumba

Editor's Note:

In 2015, at the opening of the second World Internet Conference (WIC), Chinese President Xi Jinping creatively put forward the significant concept of "jointly building a community of shared future in cyberspace," offering a direction for global internet development and governance. 

A part of his speech is included in Volume II of the book series Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, where the Chinese president pointed out that, "Cyberspace is a common space for human activities. The future of cyberspace should be in the hands of all countries. Countries should step up communication, broaden consensus, and extend cooperation to jointly build a community of shared future in cyberspace."

The 2025 WIC Wuzhen Summit was held on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the proposal of this concept. Under the theme "Forging an Open, Cooperative, Secure, and Inclusive Future of Digital Intelligence - Jointly Building a Shared Future in Cyberspace," the summit drew strong, enthusiastic responses from international delegates and civil society.

Over the past decade, adhering to the concept of "jointly building a community of shared future in cyberspace," China has deepened international cooperation in cyberspace, jointly fostered new drivers of innovative development, opened up new prospects for digital cooperation, and contributed Chinese wisdom and solutions to advancing the transformation of the global cyberspace development and governance systems.

In the 16th installment of the special series "Decoding the Book of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China," the Global Times (GT), along with the People's Daily Overseas Edition, continues to invite Chinese and foreign scholars, translators of Xi's works, practitioners with firsthand experience, and international readers to discuss the theme of "jointly building a community of shared future in cyberspace," exploring the important practical significance and value of this concept. 

The 16th article of the "Translators' Voices" column was compiled based on an interview with Kenneth Jumba, publishing manager of the Kenya Literature Bureau and publisher of the Swahili version of the book series Xi Jinping: The Governance of China.


With the rapid advancement of technology, global digitalization has accelerated, and cyberspace has become a key area influencing national development and the international order. However, problems such as the digital divide, cybersecurity threats and fragmented governance are becoming increasingly prominent, hindering global digital inclusiveness and sustainable development.

In this process, China has accumulated rich experience in cyberspace governance, from infrastructure coverage to technological application innovation, laying the foundation for its participation in and promotion of global governance. At the same time, existing international governance mechanisms face challenges such as insufficient representation and outdated rules, and the international community's call for building an equitable cyberspace that is open, inclusive, secure, stable and dynamic is growing stronger.

Against this backdrop, Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward the important proposition of "jointly building a community of shared future in cyberspace" in 2015, emphasizing that "cyberspace is a common space for human activities" and "the future of cyberspace should be in the hands of all countries." This proposal was made at the opening ceremony of the Second WIC, and part of his speech was included in Volume II of the book series Xi Jinping: The Governance of China.

This concept aims to create an open, fair, just and non-discriminatory digital development environment and to build an inclusive, equitable and resilient digital world. This approach would allow for the collective advancement of humanity through the equitable use of technologies. To foster this goal, countries should work together to share licenses and strive to make internet access and technological equipment affordable for all, allowing more countries and people to share the fruits of internet development and jointly create a better future for humanity.

Over the past decade, China's cyberspace development has undergone a transformation from rapid popularization to in-depth governance and from technological catch-up to innovation-driven development. This transformation is mainly reflected in the following aspects: Applications such as mobile payment and short videos have propelled society into a comprehensive digital life; core competitiveness has been formed in fields such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things; traditional industries have been empowered through the "internet+" strategy, and the GDP share of the digital economy has continued to increase; laws and regulations such as the Cybersecurity Law and the Data Security Law have been successively promulgated, establishing a systematic governance framework; and multilateral cooperation in global digital governance has been promoted, while the Digital Silk Road has facilitated connectivity among developing countries.

Over the past decade, the concept of jointly building a community of shared future in cyberspace has been continuously enriched and developed in its connotation. In 2016, President Xi noted in a video address at the opening ceremony of the Third WIC that internet development has no boundaries, and China is willing to work with the international community for the common welfare for all people, to uphold the concept of cyberspace sovereignty and to make the global cyberspace governance system fairer and more reasonable. In 2023, President Xi advocated prioritizing development to let the fruits of internet development benefit more countries and people, building a more peaceful and secure cyberspace, and building a more equal and inclusive cyberspace. 

In my view, these three advocacies constitute a logically rigorous and progressively developing organic whole. "Prioritizing development" emphasizes fairness and inclusivity, aiming to narrow the digital divide so that everyone can improve their lives and achieve development through the internet, ultimately leading to the common prosperity of the global digital economy. "A more peaceful and secure cyberspace" emphasizes common security and cooperative governance, opposing the arms race, cyberattacks and cyber hegemony in cyberspace, and advocating that countries should move beyond the old zero-sum game mentality. "A more equal and inclusive cyberspace" emphasizes cultural diversity and equality of discourse, aiming to break down cultural barriers and prejudices and to create a cyber environment where different cultures and countries can engage in equal dialogue and mutual understanding, thereby enhancing the overall harmony of human society. China's governance philosophy in cyberspace clearly shows that it is consistent with its governance philosophy in the real world - embodied in the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, Global Civilization Initiative and Global Governance Initiative proposed by President Xi. The initiative to build a community of shared future in cyberspace is evolving from a Chinese solution to an international consensus, transforming from a visionary concept into practical results.

Africa is a key participant in this vision. Starting a decade ago, there has been a remarkable surge in the adoption of Android-enabled mobile phones across various age groups in Africa, largely driven by the availability of affordable smartphones manufactured in China. These budget-friendly devices have permeated global markets, particularly in Kenya, where they have significantly increased access to the internet. This affordability has catalyzed innovation and economic growth within the country. In September, the China-Africa Internet Development and Cooperation Forum 2025 was held in Xiamen, Southeast China's Fujian Province, where China proposed an action plan for jointly building a China-Africa community of shared future in cyberspace (2025-26). This enables Africa to become more integrated into the global process of building a fairer and more equitable, more open and inclusive, safer and more stable, and more vibrant cyberspace.

Thanks to the forward-thinking initiatives, visionary strategies and steadfast commitment of influential leaders like President Xi, the current global internet landscape is developing in a more open and interconnected direction. Their efforts have paved the way for a more interconnected world where collaboration and innovation thrive, promoting the construction of a more equitable and inclusive global digital future. It is essential for nations to engage in more dialogue, share insights and collaborate on strategies to enhance the safety of digital tools and cyberspace as a whole. Furthermore, governments should consider investing in and supporting innovators whose creations have global appeal, fostering mutual trust among nations in permitting the use of these technologies to promote a more open and collaborative digital governance framework. Guided by the concept of jointly building a community of shared future in cyberspace and through collective action, the world will cooperate to move toward a new stage of digital civilization characterized by shared opportunities, shared responsibilities and shared value creation.