Jointly sponsored by the Cyberspace Administration of the People's Republic of China and the Zhejiang provincial government, the World Internet Conference will make its grand debut in Wuzhen, Tongxiang, Zhejiang Province. A press conference hosted by the Information Office of the State Council and held in Beijing on October 30 effectively summarized what WIC is essentially about and announced the ancient town of Wuzhen to be the permanent venue for the Internet carnival. Lu Wei, director of the China Internet Network Information Center and Li Qiang, governor of Zhejiang Province, attended the press conference. Ren Xianliang, vice director of the China Internet Network Information Center, and Ge Huijun, a member of the Standing Committee of CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee and head of the Publicity Department of Zhejiang Provincial Government, also contributed to the Q&A session of the meeting. The three-day convention is scheduled to open on November 19 and will last three days.
“A new global wave of information revolution is looming ahead. The human society is embracing what is called ‘the Internet era’ at a mainstream level. As the world’s largest developing country, China has the largest number of Internet users and potentially qualifies as a competitive candidate to build a broadly representative and truly open platform for a new round of dynamic growth of the global Internet industry. The Wuzhen WIC is proud to have four ‘firsts’: it is the first international Internet event held in China; it is the first gathering that draws participation from the world’s elitist leaders in the Internet realm; it is China’s first panoramic showcase of the achievements of the Chinese Internet trailblazers; and it is the first world-level cyberspace summit meeting that is named after an ancient town. It is our responsibility to set high goals for WIC, that is, to make it an international pageant that has vision and a trendsetter that adds color to the future of the world. WIC is not only an international platform for the communication between China and the rest of the world, but also offers a brilliant channel for China to integrate into the world sources for more in-depth sharing and mutual development of Internet. WIC is a platform where the world Internet tycoons exchange ideas, explore possibilities and reach consensus.” Said Lu Wei.
At the press conference, Zhejiang provincial governor Li Qiang briefly introduced all the preparatory work that has been done for the first WIC and cordially invited guests from all over the world to join the gathering in Wuzhen.
“The conference is a brand-new, high-end platform for communication at a global level, and reflects the innovative thinking of China in its endeavors of boosting healthy development of the Internet economy. For Zhejiang, the debut of WIC in Wuzhen provides a golden opportunity to know more about the world and boost the province’s information economy. The first WIC is also an ideal stage to show the unique Jiangnan charm of the ancient town of Wuzhen. Behind WIC is the ‘crossover’ spirit – the adventurous fusion of the fine cultural and scenic tradition with cutting-edge Internet technology. Such innovation adds an extra special touch to today’s Internet era, and puts Wuzhen in the international limelight,” announced Li, adding that “the preparation for the opening of WIC has framed well” and “the provincial government spares no effort in making the event a sensational success and part of the long-term strategy is to make Zhejiang a coveted highland for entrepreneurial innovation in the Internet field”.
The press conference was attended by as many as 114 media groups from all over the world, including People’s Daily, Xinhua News Agency, Bloomberg News, AP, CNN and BBC.
“The honor comes from the central government’s trust in Zhejiang and reflects the respect for the province’s strong competitiveness from the glolbal Internet industry”, answered Li Qiang, when asked by a journalist representing China News Agency about what it is that makes a town in Zhejiang stand out as the permanent host of WIC. Li Qiang went on to share with the audience the illustrious accomplishments and unrivaled strengths of the province’s Internet domain by quoting relevant statistic data.
“We shall grasp the opportunity to make Wuzhen a new incubator for the pioneering of the country’s information industry.” Announced Li.
“Does Zhejiang have what it takes to see the rise of another Alibaba?” Asked a journalist from Wen Wei Po, Hong Kong.
“With the untiring governmental effort in the improvement of administrative and service efficiency and great progresses made by Zhejiang in the optimization of industrial environment, together with all the support that goes to the cultivation of more entrepreneurial passion, Zhejiang will remain a fertile land for more Alibaba and Jack Ma to emerge. There will be a lot more ‘made in Zhejiang’ legends to enthrall the world in the foreseeable future.
Under the theme “An Interconnected World Shared and Governed by All”, the first WIC is composed of 13 forums on current topics of interest regarding Internet management, mobile Internet, Internet safety, and a special session about the role Zhejiang plays in the Internet scene of China. The summit will see participation of more than 1,000 state leaders, representatives from international organizations, executives from prestigious multinational companies, business elites, industrial insiders and scholars from about 100 countries. For participation, reporters all over the world can log onto www.wicwuzhen.cn for details about signing up.