Chinese researchers and institutions have been making more contributions to the setting of Internet standards as standards-setting group Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) seeks more participation to improve the working of the Internet.

Currently, 17 Request For Comments (RFC) Internet standard documents have been mainly written by Chinese researchers or institutions. In 2010 alone, they made key contributions to nine such documents, according to figures revealed Friday at an IETF meeting show.

RFC documents, first implemented in 1969, are the official records for Internet specifications, protocols, procedures and events, with some being adopted as Internet standards.

A RFC, once submitted, will be reviewed by the IETF groups, various experts and the RFC Editor group prior to approval.

"We seek broad participation to maintain the global relevance of our activities... As the numbers of Chinese participants have grown, we felt that the time was right to hold our first meeting in China," IETF chairman Russ Housley said at the six-day meeting that concluded Sunday in Beijing.

The meeting is the first of its kind to be held in China.

The IETF, an organized activity of the nonprofit Internet Society, aims to set and maintain the basic technical standards for Internet protocols.