1st China-ASEAN Cyberspace forum opens

NANNING, Dept. 18 -- The first China-ASEAN cyberspace forum kicked off in Nanning, capital city of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Thursday, with the discussion focused on a proposal to build an "information harbor."

"China sincerely hopes to join with ASEAN to cooperate in cyberspace, jointly building a China-ASEAN information harbor based in Guangxi," said Lu Wei, Minister of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC).

He said the harbor will be an information hub for the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and a community of common destiny.

"Cooperation cannot exist without information sharing," Lu emphasized, proposing that the two sides accelerate infrastructure construction to build an "information super highway" sharing financial information, clearance data, disaster assessment and precautions, and other information.

Lu also stresses the harbor's functions in boosting technological cooperation, economic and trade services and cultural exchanges.

The information harbor will push ahead with a closer, more practical and efficient community of China and ASEAN in cyberspace, driving the comprehensive cooperation of the two sides in the "diamond decade," he said.

Myat Hein, Union Minister of Myanmar Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, also sees the necessity of information sharing and cyberspace cooperation.

Cyberspace is complicated and related to national security, freedom of speech, and cross-border transactions. Its security needs all countries, especially developing and underdeveloped ones, to participate, he said during the forum.

As cyberspace has changed over the past decade, the previous framework may not suit today's situation. A new cooperation framework is needed, he added.

More than 200 people attended the event, including representatives of leading Chinese Internet companies like Baidu and Sohu and delegates of the ASEAN.

The event is jointly organized by the CAC and the government of Guangxi as part of the ongoing China-ASEAN Expo.