Beijing exports 'China-style' internet across Belt and Road

Xi pushes controlled ecosystem with assist from big business

20191020N World Internet Conference

A display at the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen: Xi Jinping envisions a digital Silk Road that overlays China's internet ecosystem on top of Belt and Road. © Reuters

SHUNSUKE TABETA, Nikkei staff writer

WUZHEN, China -- Chinese censorship has soared under President Xi Jinping through such measures as mandatory face scans and registration of phone numbers and bank account information for internet access.

Social media content is tightly policed, with material disfavored by the Communist Party removed. Now China is eager to export its model to countries across its Belt and Road Initiative -- a strategy clearly in evidence at the sixth annual World Internet Conference, which kicked off here Sunday.

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