World Internet Development Report 2019 & China Internet Development Report 2019

World Internet Development Report 2019 and China Internet Development Report 2019, the Blue Books for World Internet Conference edited by the Chinese Academy of Cyberspace Studies (CACS), were released as major theoretical achievements at the Sixth World Internet Conference (WIC) on the afternoon of October 20, 2019. The two blue books are the latest research outcomes of the Internet development and governance, with a focus on the new dynamics, trends and changes of the Internet development. They review the accomplishments and experience in terms of Internet development of China and the world in order to present facts, experiences and guidance for the global Internet development.

World Internet Development Report 2019 is about the world's Internet development and China Internet Development Report 2019, about China's. With the emphasis on the cutting-edge researches and hot issues, they showcase an overall picture of new theories and practices, as well as new trends and achievements of Internet development in 2019 in eight key fields, namely, information infrastructure, network information technology, digital economy, digital government and e-governance, Internet media, cyber security, legal system of cyberspace, and international governance of cyberspace. To be specific, World Internet Development Report 2019 shows the blueprint of building a community with a shared future in cyberspace, concentrating on new technologies, applications and achievements based on the international and domestic situation. Under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, particularly his thought on building China's strength in cyberspace, China Internet Development Report 2019 provides a panorama of China's new ideas, practices and accomplishments in terms of Internet development to introduce the country's proposal and approach and to contribute its wisdom to the Internet development.

Notably, the year 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the Internet and the 25th anniversary of China's full-function connection to it. Against this backdrop, the two reports have a chapter respectively — World Internet development in the past 50 years and China Internet development in the past 25 years. The former reviews Internet's influences on industrial transformation, scientific and technological progress, cultural communication, production and life, social governance and peaceful development, and shows opportunities and challenges brought about by the Internet. The latter describes China's Internet development over the past 25 years, which is divided into three parts — prosperous Internet industry, acceleration of building the country's strength in cyberspace and the seizing of opportunities in the era of informatization. The two reports introduce history of the Internet, summarize the law of its development and provide approaches to Internet governance.

The blue books include an essential part — comprehensive assessment and index ranking of both the world Internet development and China Internet development. For the year 2019, the index system has been improved. Based on progress made in the Internet field, the comprehensive evaluation system and the evaluation scope are improved, the algorithm model is optimized, and data collection is enhanced, making them more scientific, authoritative and accurate.

To be specific, 48 countries are covered in the word Internet development index. They are major economies and countries as representatives of the Internet development, so that an overall, objective and accurate conclusion of the world Internet development in 2019 can be drawn. According to the report, China and the United States have made the most outstanding progress; European countries like the United Kingdom, France and Germany remain strong in Internet development; developing countries and regions in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa are making more efforts in the Internet field. The top five countries in Internet development are the United States, China, South Korea, the United Kingdom and France. China Internet development index system is also optimized, including 6 primary indices, 17 secondary ones, and 50 tertiary ones. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is adopted. It evaluates the comprehensive Internet development of 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities and releases single-item rankings in 6 fields — infrastructure construction, innovation capacity, digital economy, Internet application, cyber security and cyberspace governance. It is the first time for single-item ranking to be made, which guides and encourages the Internet development and governance across China. According to the assessment, the top five regions in Internet development of China are Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang and Jiangsu; the central and western regions have also increased their effort in the Internet industry.

The blue books predict the future development of the Internet. According to World Internet Development Report 2019, after 50 years' development, radical transformation of human society is far from coming. All countries should take the cyberspace as the common home of humankind, and strengthen the sense of building a community with a shared future in cyberspace. The international community should respond to the risks and challenges in cyberspace with a more positive attitude by having better communication, more consensuses and collaborations, and follow the principle of wide consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits in order to better the life of the people. China Internet Development Report 2019 says as socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, China's Internet industry is at the strategic stage. We must follow the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, especially his thought on building China's strength in cyberspace; we should achieve national rejuvenation by keeping up with the times for information revolution and building China's strength in cyberspace to better benefit our people. We should contribute to achieving the Two Centenary Goals and realizing the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.

The blue books have been co-drafted by the National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team/Coordination Center of China (CNCERT/CC), China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, China Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (CICS-CERT), Tsinghua University, Peking University, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Institute of Information Engineering of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University.

Yang Shuzhen, President of the Chinese Academy of Cyberspace Studies (CACS), Li Yuxiao, Vice President of the CACS and Feng Mingliang, Deputy Director-General of the Bureau of Policy and Regulations of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) are present at the press conference. Yang Shuzhen says CACS will continue to study cutting-edge technologies and hot issues of the Internet, continue to release the World Internet Development Report and China Internet Development Report and other key research results, and contribute wisdom and strength to the global Internet development.