Western bigwigs were a no-show at China’s biggest web conference. But in their absence, the local overseers of the nation’s technology industry were only too happy to plug their unique vision for the global internet.
Unlike 2017, when Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai graced the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, this year’s gathering was a decidedly domestic affair, presided over by the likes of Tencent Holdings Ltd. Chairman Ma Huateng. Given the floor, they again pushed the concept of a rigidly policed medium that — nonetheless — is a wellspring of innovation to revolutionize businesses and modernize the Chinese economy.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-09/the-internet-is-splitting-in-two-amid-u-s-dispute-with-china