wuzhen, china<u+2014>china<u+2019>s president xi jinping called for <u+201c>more fair and equitable<u+201d> governance of the global web, as the country opened a state-run internet conference aimed at pushing its alternative vision of the web. mr. xi said in video remarks played at the conference opening wednesday that china would work to uphold <u+201c>cyber sovereignty,<u+201d> the idea that countries have absolute control over their corners of the internet. in its third year, the wuzhen world internet conference remains an anomaly: a convocation of the world<u+2019>s biggest tech companies in a rustic tourist village, organized by the world<u+2019>s most sophisticated internet censorship bureau, the cyberspace administration of china. this year<u+2019>s conference comes after a sweeping new chinese cybersecurity law that has drawn protests from u.s. trade groups. but u.s. tech companies are still at the conference in force, with executives from facebook inc., microsoft corp. , international business machines corp. , intel corp. , tesla motors inc. and others listed as speakers this week, along with the ceos of most of china<u+2019>s major technology firms. still, this year<u+2019>s conference is smaller than last year<u+2019>s, perhaps a reflection of growing skepticism that the chinese and u.s. visions will converge. u.s. social-media companies such as facebook remain blocked across china. unlike in the past two years, wuzhen conference organizers didn<u+2019>t leave a hole in the great firewall for attendees to access the wider web. china<u+2019>s regulation of its internet grows tighter, as with the new law that requires security reviews for any information-technology equipment supporting critical sectors such as finance and transportation. u.s. president-elect donald trump <u+2019>s campaign promises of high tariffs for chinese imports has also raised uncertainty for trade between the countries. at the first wuzhen conference in 2014, organizers slipped a note under guests<u+2019> hotel-room doors asking them to sign on to a declaration in support of china<u+2019>s principle of internet sovereignty. the declaration was scrapped after some foreign guests protested. conference organizers have since gotten more subtle. but the panel topics this week still reflect china<u+2019>s view of the internet. the include counterterrorism; <u+201c>internet plus,<u+201d> beijing<u+2019>s campaign to reboot traditional industries with internet-age technologies; and cross-strait internet development between china and taiwan, the self-ruled island that beijing considers a renegade province. still, mr. xi struck a diplomatic tone, saying china would work with the international community to <u+201c>bring about an open, inclusive and secure cyberspace<u+201d> with <u+201c>orderly development.<u+201d> <u+2014>yang jie contributed to this article. write to eva dou at eva.dou@wsj.com
china<u+2019>s xi jinping opens tech conference with call for <u+2018>cyber sovereignty<u+2019>  - wsj
eva dou