China’s Xi calls for global efforts against cyber crimes

BEIJING

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on all countries to cooperate in joint efforts to fight cyber crimes and "internet terrorism," warning against double standards in safeguarding Internet security.

"We should push for the formulation of international cyberspace rules accepted by all parties as well as an international convention against terrorism in cyberspace, improve the legal assistance mechanism to fight cyber crimes and jointly uphold peace and security in cyberspace," he said Wednesday.

Stressing the need to reject cyber surveillance and an arms race in cyberspace in his opening speech at the Second World Internet Conference in eastern Wuzhen town, he proposed the creation of a multilateral Internet governance system.

"There should be no unilateralism," state news agency Xinhua quoted Xi as saying.

"All countries should step up communication and exchange, improve dialogue and consultation mechanism on cyberspace, and study and formulate global Internet governance rules, so that the global Internet governance system becomes more fair and reasonable and reflects in a more balanced way the aspiration and interests of the majority of countries," he added.

Describing security and development as "the two wings of a bird" and cyberspace as “the common space of mankind,” the president warned against a case in which one country seeks “the so-called absolute security of itself at the expense of security of others."

He also expressed enthusiasm about Chinese efforts in cyber development and big data strategies as it prepares to launch an "Internet Plus" action plan over the next half a decade amid its promotion of the Internet’s integration with economic and social progress.

"The robust growth of China's Internet has provided a big market for enterprises and business starters of all countries," Xi said. "China's door of opening-up will never close. Our policy towards foreign investment will not change."

Two decades after gaining access to the Internet, China has around 670 million users and more than 4.13 million websites.

The Chinese government has previously been accused of sponsoring hackers behind several high-profile cyber-attacks – allegations it has denied.

Such claims by the White House and cyber-security experts have strained relations with the U.S.

During Xi’s visit to the U.S. in September, he and U.S. President Barack Obama pledged to take steps to deal with cyber spying issues in their respective countries.

They agreed to stay away from malicious cyber activities, including not to “trade secrets or other confidential business information for commercial advantage.”

Earlier this month, official Australian sources told ABC News that China was suspected of being behind a “massive” cyber-attack on computers at Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology that affected other agencies.

China denied a role in the attack, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying saying that Beijing “believe[s] it is not constructive to make groundless accusations or speculation."