Chinese President underscores cyber sovereignty, rejects Internet hegemony

WUZHEN, Zhejiang, Dec. 16 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called on all nations to respect each other's cyber sovereignty and said there should be no Internet hegemony.

Xi made the remarks in a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Second World Internet Conference held in the town of Wuzhen, in east China's Zhejiang Province.

The president said sovereign equality, a principle established by the Charter of the United Nations, is a basic norms of modern international relations, and it covers all aspects of state-to-state relations, including cyberspace.

Countries have the right to independently choose how they will tread the path of cyber development, as well as issue their own regulations and public policies, he said. The right for countries to participate in international cyberspace governance as equals should be respected by all, Xi said.

No country should pursue cyber hegemony, interfere in other nation's internal affairs, or engage in, connive at and support cyber activities that undermine the national security of other countries, he added.