Cyber Policy in China

Few doubt that China wants to be a major economic and military power on the world stage. To achieve this ambitious goal, however, the PRC leadership knows that China must first become an advanced information-based society. But does China have what it takes to get there? Are its leaders prepared to make the tough choices required to secure China’s cyber future? Or is there a fundamental mismatch between China’s cyber ambitions and the policies pursued by the CCP until now?

Cyber Policy in China offers the first comprehensive analysis of China’s information society. It explores the key practical challenges facing Chinese politicians as they attempt to integrate modern information and communications technology with traditional methods of governance and international relations. Fundamental realities of the information age, notably its globalizing character, are accelerating technological change in China and are not wholly compatible with the traditional PRC principles of stability, national industrial strength, and sovereignty.

The future trajectory of China will depend on the ethical decisions its leaders are willing to make today. The stakes are high, but if China’s ruling party does not adapt more aggressively to the defining realities of power and social organization in the information age, the ‘China dream’ seems unlikely to become a reality.