Singapore's Chinese-language Lianhe Zaobao newspaper reported (October 21) Huang Kunming, head of the CCP CC Propaganda Department and Politburo member, as saying in his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 6th World Internet Conference, that “Some countries have used national security as an excuse and have restricted and attacked other countries and enterprises. This has increased the uncertainty and even the antagonism in cyberspace.” He warned, “The Cold War and zero-sum game thinking have hindered exchanges in cyberspace. Cyber hegemony and bullying behavior in cyberspace have jeopardized the mutual trust in Internet space.”

Huang Kunming also took a tougher, offensive stance compared to last year and emphasized the rationality of China’s development of a new generation of Internet technology to seek more space for China’s 5G technology in the international communities. In his keynote speech, he called China a "major cyber power"  elevating it from last year's “big cyber player”.