2025 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit Press Conference Sees Start of Global Digital Dialogue

The 2025 edition of the World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit (WIC Wuzhen Summit) was officially announced at a press conference in Beijing, where event organisers laid out its timing, theme and agenda.

Key Facts & Highlights

• The summit will be held from November 6 to 9, 2025, in Wuzhen, Zhejiang Province.
• Its theme: “Forging an Open, Cooperative, Secure and Inclusive Digital Future — Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace.”
• 2025 marks the 10th anniversary of the concept of “building a community with a shared future in cyberspace”, which the summit will commemorate with a dedicated symposium.
• The event will include 24 parallel forums, covering a wide-ranging agenda from the digital economy and data governance to frontier technologies.
• A special dialogue is planned featuring a grouping described as the “Six Little Dragons” — select Chinese tech start-ups (among them DeepSeek and Unitree Robotics) — focusing on global AI innovation trends and cross-sector collaboration.
• The summit will also launch two new professional committees: one on cross-border e-commerce, and another on digitalisation of cultural heritage.
• The event’s “Light of Internet Expo” will feature live showcases of AI, embodied intelligence, quantum technology and other frontier digital innovations.

Why It Matters

In a time when digital technologies, artificial intelligence and data-driven business models are rapidly reshaping economies and societies, the 2025 WIC Wuzhen Summit positions itself as a major global stage for dialogue and cooperation.

• By emphasising open, cooperative, secure and inclusive development, the organizers are signalling a broad agenda that goes beyond technology alone to include governance, ethics and global connectivity.
• The inclusion of multiple forums, major tech-company participation and new committees show an intent to drive actionable outcomes, not just high-level talk.
• The summit serves as both a showcase of China’s internet/AI ambitions and a platform for international participants to engage with the evolving digital landscape in Asia and beyond.

• The actual list of participants and which international organisations or companies will attend — their presence or absence will indicate how global the summit’s reach will be.
• The outcomes of the 24 forums — whether they yield concrete statements, partnerships or frameworks around digital governance, AI ethics or cross-border data use.
• The two new committees (e-commerce and cultural-heritage digitalisation) — their formation may herald ongoing working groups or follow-through after the summit.
• The “Light of Internet Expo” and technology showcases — how cutting-edge they are, and whether they reflect breakthrough-level innovation or more incremental progress.
• How the theme of “shared future in cyberspace” is interpreted in terms of policy and governance — what role will data security, sovereignty, and cross-national collaboration play?

Implications for Stakeholders