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Evolution of Internet in China, Papers

The diffusion of the Internet in China

https://arizona.aws.openrepository.com/handle/10150/289812

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This dissertation examines how the Internet spread across China from the late 1990s into the early 2000s, during a period of explosive growth. Between 1999 and 2001, the number of Chinese Internet users jumped from 8.9 million to 22 million, making China one of the fastest-growing online populations in the world .

Using the Global Diffusion of the Internet (GDI) framework, the study analyzes six key dimensions of Internet adoption: pervasiveness, geographic dispersion, sectoral absorption, connectivity infrastructure, organizational infrastructure, and sophistication of use.

Key findings:

  • Government policy was the central driver. In 1996, China chose “state-coordinated competition,” allowing multiple state-owned entities to operate backbone networks instead of a single monopoly. This strategy accelerated infrastructure development while keeping control centralized.
  • Infrastructure grew rapidly, with world-class backbone networks and broad national coverage by the late 1990s.
  • Commercial and government use expanded quickly, with nearly all government agencies and most large businesses establishing websites, though many remained basic “brochureware” rather than interactive platforms.
  • Security and regulation were tightly controlled, with restrictions on content, censorship of sensitive topics, and prosecutions of online dissenters, highlighting the balance between growth and state control.
  • E-commerce adoption lagged behind infrastructure development. Many firms had not yet restructured their business models to fully leverage the Internet.
  • Provincial case study: Guangdong was one of the earliest and most advanced provinces, benefiting from its ties to Hong Kong and foreign investment.

The dissertation concludes that China’s Internet expansion was shaped by a mix of government coordination, rapid infrastructure investment, and selective openness, producing a unique pattern of growth compared with other nations. It highlights both the opportunities for modernization and the challenges posed by censorship, regulation, and uneven business adaptation

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Papers

Whitepaper on US-China Cyber-Relations

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This white paper draws on Professor Will Foster’s 19 years of experience studying US-China cyber-relations and is a post-modern attempt to bring new perspectives to the very limited analysis found in press coverage on “Chinese hacking of America.” Professor Foster combines glosses on these stories, provides some lessons he has learned from studying US-China Cyber-Relations, and provides a number of potential scenarios all with the goal of increasing communication and understanding between two very powerful and once distant civilizations that are now inter-connected at the speed of light. About the Author: Professor Foster has been at the intersection of government, industry, and academia for 30 years. He earned his PhD from University of Arizona in Management Information Systems and East Asian Studies. His dissertation on the Diffusion of the Internet in China was published by CISAC at Stanford in 2001. He has authored over 50 articles on US-China cyber-relations. Between 1995-2001, he was the International Policy Editor for the CIX—the world’s first Internet Service Provider Trade Association. Professor Foster started his career designing organizational networks for the US Congress, the White House and over 20 Federal Agencies as well as global companies like GE.

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