Information technology policy center hosts conference on China

The University’s Center for Information Technology Policy sponsored an all-day conference on Tuesday titled “The U.S. and China: Great Nations, Evolving Technology and Challenging Policy.” According to CITP’s website, the conference aimed to answer questions regarding policy, innovation and cooperation that arise from the “rapid evolution” of technology.

By bringing “experts of internet policy from both the U.S. and China,” the conference tried to envision ways “to continue a dialogue ... with our Chinese friends about technology policy in our respective countries,” CITP Associate Director Stephen Schultze said.

The conference was opened by a keynote address from computer science and public affairs professor Edward Felten. Felten is the director of CITP and is currently on leave to serve as the chief technologist for the United States Federal Trade Commission, advising the chairman of the trade commission on Internet policy.

In his address, Felten noted that the Internet poses tremendous opportunities for developments in diverse fields.

“We recognize the Internet [as the] driver of economic growth and innovation ... of social progress,” he said. “[It’s] a forum for social organizations of all scales.”

Felten added that the growth of the Internet, however, also “raises new policy issues” that concern both the United States and China.

“Where we face similar challenges, we should be working together,” he said. The two countries should work on establishing a “common vocabulary” and “common expectations,” he added.

The majority of the conference consisted of three panels, including one on telecommunications policy led by Schultze, one on technology innovation led by computer science professor Jaswinder Pal Singh and one on Internet issues led by Fengming Liu, a visiting CITP fellow and associate general counsel at Microsoft.

The panels addressed different ways to encourage technology innovations within a global economy and market as well as looked at how differences between U.S. and Chinese markets lead to different economic questions within the two countries.

Felten also led a “A Conversation with Pioneers in Computing,” which featured Robert Kahn GS ’64, founder of the Corporation for National Research Initiatives, and Ma Songde, former vice minister in the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.

According to Schultze, the unique “face-to-face” time that the conference provided between distinguished scholars and experts from both the United States and China was especially crucial to finding a way for the two countries to cooperate on projects of mutual interest.

“In addition to language and geographic barriers, we often have cultural and ... relationship barriers,” he explained.

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Other prominent speakers included Andrew McLaughlin, former White House deputy chief technology officer, and Bruce Gottleib, former senior adviser to the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, as well as professors and fellows from prominent universities in the United States and China.