With rising confidence, Xi Jinping wields the internet as a tool of empowerment and control, speeches reveal
- A new book reveals Chinese President Xi Jinping raised concerns about the Communist Party losing the battle for public opinion online
- Over the course of seven years, Xi has transformed China’s internet policies, emphasising cyberspace as a tool for governance and national rejuvenation
The Chinese government has made technology and innovation key priorities in its development plans for the next five years, as it strives to build a “Digital China” and overtake the US as the world’s No 1 economy. In this third and final part of a series looking at the politicisation of China’s internet landscape, we explain how the views of China’s paramount leader, Xi Jinping, about the internet have evolved into what they are today.
In August 2013, after just five months as China’s top leader, President Xi Jinping held a closed-door meeting with the country’s propaganda officials in Beijing to raise concerns about the Communist Party losing control of the national narrative online.
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