China’s Xi calls for cooperation on Internet regulation

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers his speech during the opening ceremony of the Johannesburg Summit for the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, Friday Dec. 4, 2015. AP Photo

BEIJING. China—Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for international cooperation in regulating Internet use, stepping up efforts to promote controls that have prompted criticism by human rights and free speech activists.

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Xi, whose government operates extensive Internet monitoring and censorship, spoke at a conference Wednesday attended by executives of major global and Chinese online companies.

Xi called for the creation of a global “governance system” to reflect the “wishes and interests of all countries” and to help fight online crime and terrorism.

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On the eve of the conference, the human rights group Amnesty International appealed to technology companies to resist Chinese efforts to control online governance in ways that might curb freedom of expression or exacerbate human rights abuses.