Since China and US share many common interests in the field of Internet industry, Cai proposed that the two countries should work together to ensure dialogue between the Internet authorities of the two countries, and also cooperate in research and development of new technologies.
The number of Internet users in China is growing by 240,000 per day. At this rate, the number of Chinese Internet users will reach 500 million in three to four years. "The Chinese Internet market is huge and has great potential. We sincerely welcome businesses from across the world to come and share the development opportunities in this market, with their technological achievements, and their modern concepts of service and management," concluded Cai.
According to ISC President Hu Qiheng, in June 2008, China had a total of 253 million Internet users, up 91 million from the same period last year, a year-on-year growth of 56.2 percent, the fastest annual growth rate ever seen. The number of websites has reached 1.9 million. The international bandwidth used has reached 493.7 Gbps.
"I believe the numbers will continue to grow," said Hu. "This forum will further deepen our mutual understanding and communication, and promote cooperation between China and the US."
![Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer of Microsoft [China.org.cn]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20081107/000802c98ccc0a7e33b906.jpg "Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer of Microsoft [China.org.cn]") |
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Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer of Microsoft [China.org.cn]
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Craig Mundie, Microsoft's chief research officer said, "It is indeed an exciting time for the Internet here in China and globally. Technology is spreading at a rapid pace, China will be the largest PC market in world in 5 years. The Internet is the 21st-century manifestation of a basic, personal desire to connect, to transcend borders, to benefit from the free flow of information. There is the potential for a huge positive impact on global society. But the Internet also compels us to think in new ways about business models, security, privacy, identity, borders, policy and regulation. These are complex issues that need to be tackled collaboratively, as we are doing here."
He urged businesses, researchers, scientists, and educators around the world to collaborate, share data, stay globally connected, and preserve open access to information.
![Ya-Qin Zhang, chairman of Microsoft China [China.org.cn]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20081107/000802c98ccc0a7e338c05.jpg "Ya-Qin Zhang, chairman of Microsoft China [China.org.cn]") |
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Ya-Qin Zhang, chairman of Microsoft China [China.org.cn]
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Ya-Qin Zhang, corporate vice president of Microsoft and chairman of Microsoft China said the goals for this Forum were to review Internet trends in the two largest Internet using nations in the world, to examine the Internet technology, businesses, policies and social developments that will shape the future, to discuss candidly a few of the biggest challenges the Internet faces, and to build confidence, understanding, relationships and a platform for dialogue that will live on and thrive beyond this meeting.
The US-China Internet Industry Forum is an annual event to facilitate exchange and cooperation between the Internet industries of the two countries. The first forum was held in November 2007 in Seattle.