There Will Be Some Regulatory Turbulence. Though the Internet poses a further threat to the Communist Party's control of information, the Beijing leadership cannot afford the economic cost of trying to stifle this new medium. The Internet will be allowed to flower though there will be some regulatory turbulence. Beijing is still grappling with how best to control the Internet and undesirable content distributed through it without undercutting that economic value, the panelists said. Increasingly, the government is holding ISPs and ICPs legally responsible for sensitive content distributed through their networks or posted on their sites, just as they would any publication.
China treats the Internet as another form of media.
He added that he has learned in discussions with government officials that Chinese Web sites will soon also be allowed to report their own news, as opposed to being required only to use news generated by government-licensed news providers. The Internet's impact on all aspects of business in China will be profound, the panelists said, though its full benefits will take time to be realized. The most significant side of e-commerce in China is the B2B space. Some of the SOEs are quietly pursuing B2B or B2C strategies, even quietly looking to spinning something off on Nasdaq. But they know that the SOE's problems won't be solved by the Internet.