World Internet Conference
The World Internet Conference, also known as the Wuzhen Summit, is an annual event, first held in 2014, organized by the government of the People's Republic of China to discuss global Internet issues and policies. It is organized by the Cyberspace Administration of China.
Wuzhen Declaration
At the first World Internet Conference in 2014, an unknown party distributed a draft joint statement affirming the right of individual nations to develop, use, and govern the Internet, a concept Chinese Communist Party general secretary and paramount leader Xi Jinping calls cyber sovereignty. Attendees received a draft of the statement overnight, slid under their hotel doors. As some objected to the statement, the organizers made no mention of it in the conference's final day.Summits
1st World Internet Conference
The inaugural World Internet Conference took place from November 19 to 21, 2014, with the topic "Connectivity, Sharing and Governance." Li Keqiang, the Premier of the State Council, engaged with Chinese and foreign delegates at the conference.2nd World Internet Conference
The second World Internet Conference in 2015 was attended by notable figures including co-founder of Alibaba Group Jack Ma, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and the prime ministers of Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Xi promoted his concept of "Internet sovereignty", urging the world to "respect each country's Internet sovereignty, respect each country's right to choose their own development path and management model of the internet". Xi's speech was praised by Ma. The official Chinese media commented that Xi Jinping's speech showed China was bullish on Internet growth and China would build a "Digital Silk Road for Win-Win Cooperation-Information Infrastructure Partnership". The second World Internet Conference releases the Wuzhen Initiative, which calls on all countries to promote Internet development, foster cultural diversity in cyber space, share the fruits of Internet development, ensure peace and security in cyber space, and improve global Internet governance. During the Conference a high-level advisory council for the WIC's organizing committee secretariat was established, and the Wuzhen Initiative was proposed. The initiative was released with the conference. The Wuzhen Initiative includes specifically mentions the Internet needs and online protection of teenagers. The ultimate goal of the Initiative is to build a common spiritual homeland for all people on this planet. Fadi Chehadé, the president of ICANN, thinks the Wuzhen Initiative is a good step in stimulating technological innovation and new approaches to innovate and govern the Internet.However, the event was criticized by Amnesty International, which called on technology companies to boycott the conference. Amnesty International urged tech firms to reject China's position, calling it an attempt to promote censorship.
In December 2015, Fadi Chehadé announced that, after he leaves his post as ICANN CEO in March 2016, he will become co-chair of a newly formed advisory committee to the World Internet Conference. The first meeting of the committee will take place in mid 2016.