From June 23 to 27, the 20th Internet Governance Forum (IGF 2025) was held in Lillestrøm, Norway. Under the theme of ‘Building Digital Governance Together,’ the Forum brought together over 10,000 participants from governments, civil society, the private sector, technical communities, academia, and international organizations. Among the distinguished video speakers were United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre of Norway, and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin; onsite speeches were delivered by UN Under-Secretary-General Li Junhua, President Dharambeer Gokhool of Mauritius, and Norwegian Minister of Digitalisation and Public Governance Karianne Tung, among others. The Forum featured more than 250 events, including workshops, open forums, and lightning talks—delving into key issues in global digital governance, with a particular emphasis on shaping its future as the world marks 20-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+20).

China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) participated intensively in IGF 2025, maintaining close collaboration with global multi‑stakeholder communities and proactively amplifying the voice of China on the world stage. During the workshop titled ‘AI Innovation: Responsible Development and Ethical Imperatives,’ Dr. Zhang Xiao, Deputy Director of CNNIC, provided commentary on speakers’ presentations. Her remarks emphasized three main points: 1) The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence warrants the establishment of a responsible governance framework that coordinates both development and regulation. 2) There is an intrinsic link between AI governance and Internet governance, aligning with the inherent logic of digital transformation. Governance practices can draw lessons from the Internet’s governance experience. 3) She advocated for the formulation of an interoperable international standards framework, exploring common governance approaches to achieve co‑governance and shared benefits.

 As a member of the IGF’s Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG), Dr. Zhang Xiao actively performed her responsibilities, deeply engaging in topic setting, proposal selection, and speaker nomination for this year’s Forum, as well as participating in intersessional work within the IGF Strategy Working Group, the Policy Network on AI (PNAI), and other bodies. During the Forum, Dr. Zhang Xiao attended several MAG working meetings, where she took part in in‑depth discussions on the IGF’s future development, implementation of the “Global Digital Compact,” and WSIS+20 priorities.

CNNIC has long been committed to participating in IGF, actively promoting multi‑stakeholder dialogue and cooperation, and contributing Chinese proposals and experiences. Looking ahead, CNNIC will continue serving as a bridge in the global Internet governance process, contributing to an open, inclusive, secure, trustworthy, and sustainable digital era.

Established in 2006, the IGF is the principal global digital governance platform under the United Nations framework, and operates on a multistakeholder basis. The MAG, appointed by the UN Secretary‑General, advises on IGF‑related issues. To ensure sufficient expertise and experience in guiding IGF through WSIS+20, MAG members for 2025 were nominated from former MAG members and members of the UN Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG).