China Launches 'Future Internet' Experiment... "Taking the Lead in Cyber Competition"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] China has begun large-scale network experiments to be applied to the 'future internet' in 5 to 10 years, the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on the 20th (local time), citing China's state-run Xinhua News Agency.

The 'Future Internet Technology Infrastructure Facility,' headquartered at Tsinghua University in China, connects 40 Chinese universities and research institutions with a communication network faster and more scalable than the existing internet.

This constructed communication network will serve as the foundation of the China Environmental Network Innovation (CENI), which connects major Chinese cities, and will act as a testbed to verify the performance and security of future network communication technologies before commercialization.

This communication network is scheduled to be completed in 2023, and centered around this network, an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven society is expected, connecting almost all products from home computers to vehicles running on the streets.

A researcher participating in this experiment at Tsinghua University said, "Future internet technology must be able to firmly withstand external attacks," adding, "This project is directly related to our national security, so security is the most important."

Since China's existing internet infrastructure used Western technology, and after Edward Snowden's revelations that the U.S. had infiltrated networks of China's key institutions and facilities through backdoors (information leakage channels), SCMP reported that China has been making efforts to replace Western technology in its existing internet infrastructure.

As a result, many Chinese telecommunications companies, including Huawei, have surpassed Western competitors in advanced technologies such as 5G. Not only China but also other countries including the U.S., the European Union (EU), Japan, and South Korea are operating similar projects.

In this project, China's goal is to compete with the U.S.-led future internet and overwhelm it with completely different technology. For example, China is developing an operating system that enables online communication between various devices such as routers, servers, and computer chips to manage data flow.

According to SCMP, Tan Hang, a scientist at CENI, predicted in a Chinese academic journal published last August that the experimental network construction in China, costing 1.7 billion yuan (approximately 292.5 billion KRW), will enhance the country's competitiveness and secure leadership in the international cyberspace competition.

Tan Hang added, "In the new network experiment, more than 4,000 teams across China will simultaneously and individually conduct attack and defense experiments."

SCMP added, "China aims to expand the influence of its advanced infrastructure to neighboring countries such as Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.