Top talents gather in Wuzhen on Internet's future

Top talents in the Internet sector are gathering in Wuzhen to talk about the future prospects of Internet development.

The World Internet Conference kicks off on December 3,2017, in Wuzhen, east China’s Zhejiang Province. [Photo: China Plus]

Taking place every year in Wuzhen, the World Internet Conference brings together talents from all over the world to share their stories and to look ahead to future prospects.

Jack Ma, founder of ecommerce giant Alibaba, says this is his fourth year to join in the talk, and that after years of searching, he sees the Internet as becoming even more indispensable for each individual.

"In the next 30 years, the Internet will no longer belong to any Internet companies. The Internet will belong to everyone. In the past 20 years, if you say the development of the Internet started with nothing but blank, then I'll say the Internet will grow in the next 30 years to become an indispensable part of live, connecting every sector. Nobody can live without the internet."

The fast Internet development in China has greatly shaped the business landscape here.

China has more than 700 million Internet users, or one-fifth of world's total, and has become the No.1 online spender.

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, speaks at the opening ceremony of the World Internet Conference on December 3,2017, in Wuzhen, east China’s Zhejiang Province. [Photo: china.org.cn]

With everything related to cyberspace in China growing at a fast rate, many International players are also trying to grab a share.

American smartphone maker Apple entered the Chinese market three decades ago with a few employees, and now it offers more than 5 million jobs across the country.

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, is currently visiting China for the 12th time. His presence and speech at this year's conference indicates the importance of the Chinese market for the iPhone maker.

"The theme of this conference, developing a digital economy for openness and shared benefits, is a vision we at Apple share. We are proud to have worked alongside many of our partners in China to help build a community that will join a common future in cyberspace."

Other heavyweight US tech executives attending this year's conference includes Sundar Pichai, Google's chief executive, Chuck Robbins, CEO of Cisco, and Robert Kahn, father of the Internet.