China’s cybersecurity chiefs pledge total loyalty to leadership under Xi

China’s top cybersecurity officials have pledged loyalty to the Communist Party leadership headed by President Xi Jinping in the lead-up to a major party congress this year, a move pointing to tighter controls on the internet.

At a national meeting of directors at the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) on Tuesday and Wednesday, the officials said one of their priorities was to cultivate an online environment that was “conducive to a successful 19th party congress”.

In a statement, the directors agreed that the level of urgency and the frequency that Xi had spoken about cybersecurity last year were both “rare” in history. They also pledged their absolute loyalty to Xi.

Other priorities were cleaning up cyberspace, strengthening cybersecurity and promoting information technologies across various sectors.

The statement comes in a critical year of leadership reshuffles ahead of the 19th party congress in autumn, in which the new line-up of the next Politburo Standing Committee, the top decision-making body, will be unveiled.

Zhan Jiang, an international news and communications professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said tighter internet controls were expected.