On the morning of December 17, CNNIC and the World Economic Forum (WEF) jointly held the opening session on Internet Innovation and Economic Development of the Forum on Internet Innovation during the 2nd World Internet Conference (WIC) Wuzhen Summit. 

Zhuang Rongwen, Deputy Director of the State Internet Information Office and Chen Zhaoxiong, Deputy Minister of Industry and Information Technology attended the session and delivered keynote speeches. Also present at the event were David Aikman, Managing Director of WEF and Head of WEF Beijing Representative Office; Li Xiaodong, Director of CNNIC and research fellow; and a number of tech giants and young entrepreneurs from China and abroad. Shaukat Aziz, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, also attended the event. 

Quoting President Xi Jinping’s proposal to “promote innovative development of cyber economy for common prosperity” from his opening remarks at the 2nd WIC, Zhuang Rongwen pointed out that the Chinese government has devised a comprehensive roadmap for the development of the internet industry by implementing the initiative of building China into a power of internet. Documents issued by the State Council, such as the Guiding Opinions on the “Internet Plus” Initiative and the Guidelines for Promoting the Development of Big Data, have provided guidance for the innovative and integrated development of the internet and economy. He suggested that innovations in concept, systems, technology and models must be boosted to enable internet innovation to drive economic development. 

Chen Zhaoxiong introduced the changes to the modern internet industry from the aspects of model shifts, scale expansion and driving force changes, and proposed to “build an open, inclusive and shared internet service ecosphere, an internet industry ecosphere featuring information security and coordinated development, and an innovation-led ecosphere that features the integration of internet and other sectors and green development. 

As to the topic of “Opportunities and Challenges in Digital Transformation”, guests such as David Aikman, Managing Director of WEF; Cheng Wei, Chairman and CEO of Didi; Xu Jinghong, Chairman of Tsinghua Holdings Co., Ltd.; Li Xiaodong, Director of CNNIC and research fellow; Zhang Hongjiang, CEO of Kingsoft; Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnb; and Vaughan Smith, Vice President of Facebook; discussed the collision and integration of the traditional economy and digital economy, as well as the profound influence of internet innovation on corporate operations, industrial upgrading and socioeconomic development. 

According to Li Xiaodong, China is promoting the integration of the internet industry with socioeconomic development, and internet companies should have a global perspective and take an “open and inclusive” attitude toward the opportunities and challenges in the process of digital transformation. He also said that the internet is now dominating the third industrial revolution and is likely to be an important influencing factor for the fourth industrial revolution. 

At the session, the “dialogue” between internet giants and young makers was a highlight, bringing older and younger generations together to share their entrepreneurial journey and experience from multiple perspectives. Young makers who stood out from their peers in internet innovation and entrepreneurship introduced their products and entrepreneurial concepts, and renowned makers including Yu Dunde, CEO of tuniu.com and Zhang Yiming, founder and CEO of Bytedance, shared their concepts about innovation and entrepreneurship. Zhao Linghuan, Chairman of Hony Capital, commented on the business projects of young makers as an investor, and provided guidance on their future development. The innovativeness of Chinese young makers won high praise from Rod Beckstrom, founder and CEO of Rod Beckstrom and former President of ICANN, who himself is both an entrepreneur and investor. 

Choosing CNNIC as a co-organizer reflects the WEF’s recognition of the technological innovation concepts CNNIC has upheld and adhered to for years in the internet industry. In response to the innovative internet economy, CNNIC will work together with all sectors to build a safe and stable infrastructure environment in preparation for the age of digital transformation, and provide strong support for the coordinated development of the internet and traditional economy.