The Fourth World Internet Conference opens in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, Dec 3, 2017. [Photo/IC]

MORE THAN 400 ENTERPRISES from some 13 countries and regions are attending the fourth World Internet Conference from Sunday to Tuesday in Wuzhen, East China's Zhejiang province. That number is about 100 more than last year. Beijing News commented on Sunday:

China is now home to about 750 million netizens and has the world's second-largest digital economy. It is also in an advantageous position in developing e-commerce and third-party mobile payments.

The annual Wuzhen conference has become a platform for the exchange of ideas between high-tech leaders from around the world, while the accompanying expo will witness the launch of 118 new products and 113 project signing ceremonies while match more than 1,200 projects with potential investors.

While the country is poised to advance global free trade, the Chinese internet is expected to provide most of the ammunition. The November 11 online shopping gala and the booming cross-border e-commerce aside, China has made notable progress in autonomous driving, building a 5G network for commercial use and the deployment of Internet Protocol Version 6.

But it is the sharing economy that shines the brightest, China is the first country to legalize online car-hailing services, and it has exported its short-hire bike services to overseas markets. Chinese participation in global rules-making has also expanded in the fields of cloud computing, the internet of things and smart manufacturing.

Hosting the Wuzhen meeting is not just about sharing China's success with the rest of the world but also inspiring more countries to tap into the internet through extensive exchanges. As internet companies are playing an increasingly bigger role, China can help them make the most of their ambitions.