Hong Yu, Associate Dean of the School of Media and International Culture and the Director of the Institute of Communication Research at Zhejiang University

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.

In the 14th article of the "Scholars' Perspectives" column, the Global Times talked to Professor Hong Yu (Hong), Associate Dean of the School of Media and International Culture and the Director of the Institute of Communication Research at Zhejiang University.



Global Times: In 2015, President Xi Jinping, in his speech at the opening of the Second WIC, proposed the idea of jointly building a community of shared future in cyberspace. This year marks the 10th anniversary of this concept. Why do you think this idea has continued to resonate widely? Today, countries' levels of internet development vary, and rules are often dominated by a few countries. What is the practical significance of China's proposal for a community of shared future in cyberspace in terms of respecting national cyber sovereignty, maintaining peace, security, and stability in cyberspace, and creating an open, fair, just, and non-discriminatory digital development environment? 

Hong: The community of shared future in cyberspace is important because it reflects a distinct and profound spirit of internationalism in the Internet age. The reason why the idea of a community of shared future in cyberspace has gained broad resonance is first because it responds to the common aspirations of the developing world, embodying internationalism. Second, it recognizes that the internet has become a key force in building a new, equal order for the future world. The internet has evolved from a "point-line-plane connection" to an ecosystem that profoundly affects cultural expression, social relationships, and development opportunities, closely interwoven with the real social structure and power relations.

For this reason, how the internet is built is essentially an ecological choice shaped by different development philosophies. Once the internet system becomes stable, it will also affect the distribution of global development opportunities. Therefore, the community of shared future in cyberspace is not only a normative value and ideal of order, but also prompts us to reflect on the current realities of the internet while stimulating our imagination and pursuit of a better future.

Global Times: In the article "Work Together to Build a Healthy Cyberspace," included in Volume II of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, President Xi 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." Can you provide some examples of deficits in governance of cyberspace? How can Chinese vision and experience help narrow these deficits?  

Hong: In my view, the community of shared future in cyberspace is essentially a development concept. It emphasizes that development must be inclusive, rather than a situation where a few develop while the majority fall behind. Achieving such inclusive development requires an appropriate institutional environment. This also explains why China has always stressed that the internet environment must be peaceful, secure, open, cooperative, and orderly—these characteristics are, in fact, preconditions for achieving high-quality development. To create such conditions, corresponding institutional arrangements are needed, such as adhering to multilateralism, democracy, transparency, and respecting the sovereignty of all countries.

China emphasizes national sovereignty not to exclude the multi-stakeholder model but rather to encourage it. From the history of China's internet development, the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government have long maintained an inclusive and innovative attitude, encouraging exploration and practice in the internet sector. As a result, China's internet commercial ecosystem has developed into a multi-stakeholder structure, where enterprises, capital, and domestic and foreign entities all have their positions and a voice. China's internet is also a beneficiary of this multi-stakeholder model.

However, even in such a structure, the state still plays a crucial "meta-governance" role. Governance can be based on multi-party consultation, but the state must represent society and, when necessary, regulate capital. Especially for developing countries, without cyber sovereignty, it is difficult to respond to the real needs of society, and the development of the internet can easily be dominated by large capital or the logic of certain major powers, which can harm the healthy development of society.

Overall, the community of shared future in cyberspace points to a future of equal politics, requiring a peaceful, secure, open, cooperative, and orderly media environment, rather than a bullying or one-sided environment. To achieve such an environment, a corresponding global internet governance system must be built. The current system is largely dominated by certain countries or large capital, but this model has led to obvious governance deficits and hindered the realization of the internet's inclusive effects.

The governance deficits in cyberspace are mainly reflected in two aspects: First, the distribution of institutional discourse power is highly unbalanced, with a few countries holding the main seats; Second, the value system is still dominated by the US, with no fundamental change.

Two of China's proposed concepts are worth noting: first, "cyber sovereignty," and second, "the internet as a new driving force for development." These two points do not exist in the traditional Western value system, but they represent the aspirations of many developing countries. The US emphasizes the free flow of information, viewing the internet as a space for liberalism and individualism, or as a tool for achieving commercial value, but rarely sees it as a means to promote common prosperity, poverty alleviation, and the optimization of social systems. In contrast, China views the internet as a growth engine that can improve the industrial chain and serve national development strategies like rural revitalization.

In Western contexts, the Internet is often seen as a commercial product or a channel for cultural export rather than as infrastructure for development. The Chinese experience emphasizes two dimensions—sovereignty and development—and advances a pragmatic governance concept, such as "interconnection." This not only means gaining connectivity, but stresses that states as actors should be able to independently build equipment and provide network services, thereby creating a more multi-dimensional, integrated model of Internet development rather than simply relying on external supply.

Global Times: President Xi, in his congratulatory letter to the 6th WIC, clearly stated that "It is the common responsibility of the international community to develop, use and govern the Internet well so that it can better benefit mankind." In the context of the coexistence of international internet economic competition and cooperation, what valuable experiences has China's innovative model provided for the development of the global digital economy and cyberspace? How can we balance technological innovation with the fair distribution of benefits in advancing global internet cooperation, ensuring that development outcomes benefit more countries and people?

Hong: The development of the internet in China has gone through a path from "wild growth" to national governance: initially, the government allowed enterprises to develop rapidly, accumulating from small to large, and later the state stepped in to regulate and manage. As the internet matured, the role of the state gradually shifted from "regulation" to "active leadership," creating a more fair and orderly digital social order. The state is not an abstract entity, but a multi-level system: at the central level, important laws such as the Cybersecurity Law and the e-commerce law are formulated, while local governments at the provincial, municipal, district, and county levels implement these laws, closely integrating them with social needs.

At the international level, President Xi's "correct view of justice and interests" effectively reflects the principled direction: on the one hand, emphasizing mutual benefit and win-win outcomes, and on the other hand, stressing the unity and ideal pursuits of the Global South. South-South cooperation is a mutually beneficial relationship formed based on the autonomous choices and objective needs of each country. This interdependence is distinct from the unequal subordinate relationships seen during colonial or imperialist times. Through technology transfer and capital cooperation, it enables developing countries to achieve their own development while maintaining equality and autonomy for both parties.

On one hand, we need to balance development and regulation; on the other hand, we must align with the ideas proposed by President Xi, which emphasize "developing, using, and governing the internet well so that it can better benefit mankind." From this perspective, we can explore China's practices in innovating and ensuring the fair distribution of development benefits, especially considering the significance of these experiences for other countries, particularly those in the Global South.

Global Times: The concept of cyber sovereignty proposed by China is different from the Western liberal and individualistic approach to internet governance. Western scholars have stigmatized it as "internet balkanization" and used it to hype up the "China threat" theory. How do you view this argument from Western scholars?

Hong: First of all, China's national sovereignty does not exclude multiple stakeholders. When people think of national sovereignty, they often associate it with state monopoly, but this is not the case. In recent years, through governance modernization, China has become more focused on absorbing the views and demands of all parties in the decision-making process. Therefore, national sovereignty should not simply be equated with state monopoly, otherwise it would be impossible to explain why China's internet has flourished over the past few decades.

As for the so-called "internet balkanization," which suggests that China's cyber sovereignty may lead to the fragmentation of the internet, I believe this concern is exaggerated. Government involvement is necessary, and Western scholars themselves acknowledge that after the commercialization of the internet, the US has also exercised considerable management over the internet to address issues such as copyright, infringement, and security. In other words, whether it's the Chinese experience from developing countries or the experience of developed countries, cyber sovereignty is universally present. The difference lies in the fact that the goals and approaches of emphasizing cyber sovereignty are different: US cyber sovereignty is more about using the internet as a commercial space to maintain its status as a global power, while China's cyber sovereignty is more about securing space for development. 

Additionally, the internet is not just a platform but an entire industry chain. China's international internet technology interactions actually reflect a spirit of globalism: China is no longer just the world's factory; it has developed a certain level of capability in cyberspace management. It has both production capabilities and telecommunication operation and key network technology capabilities, along with platform advantages. This comprehensive capability allows China to promote global connectivity, rather than block it.