NEW YORK, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The head of the organization in charge of Internet domain names, known as ICANN, said here on Monday that China plays a very important role in Internet technology, and that his organization enjoys very close working ties with the emerging Asian power.
"Obviously, China is an extremely sophisticated player in Internet technology and the ICANN community. We had a very close working relationship with CNNIC, or the Chinese Internet information center, for many years," said Rod Beckstrom, head of ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), when speaking to a small group of the UN-based journalists.
Beckstrom, who just returned from a China tour that began in early December, said his trip was particularly a "historic" one because of the announcement of the ICANN decision to appoint Internet expert Li Xiaodong, a professor with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as the organization's new vice president for Asia.
Most recently, Li has served as the deputy director-general and chief technology officer of the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), which was founded as a non-profit organization on June 3, 1997.
Assuming his new post, Li is "reporting directly to me," Beckstrom said. "That's a very important role covering all countries in Asia."
Half of the world's Internet users are in Asia, while a quarter of them are in China. "So it is extremely vital for us to have a top manager from Asia," Beckstrom said, adding that this is surely a sign which showcases the importance ICANN has attached to the Chinese market.
China has the largest online population in the world. The number of Internet users in China is now greater than the entire population of the United States, after hitting 338 million by the end of June 2011.
About 95 percent of Chinese townships were connected to broadband by early June 2011, and 92.5 percent of villages had telephone lines that could be used for Internet access.
"It seems to me that the Chinese community was very happy about this news (Li's appointment) ... (so were) the Chinese Internet community and non-profit sector that we brought in such a prominent Chinese leader into our organization," Beckstrom said.
During his visit, Beckstrom explained the new general top-level domain (gTLD), and highlighted the importance he had laid on the Chinese market.
In July 2009, Beckstrom, a best-selling author and public diplomacy leader, was appointed president and CEO of ICANN, a non- profit entity with participants from all over the world dedicated to keeping the Internet secure, stable and interoperable.
The organization, with its headquarters in the United States, also promotes competition and develops policy on the Internet's unique identities. Since its inception in 1998, ICANN has been charged with introducing and promoting competition in the registration of domain names, while ensuring the security and stability of the domain names.
"Internet is very unique in the history of man because every name in it is unique globally," said Beckstrom.
At present, there is "a big challenge" to balance between the web freedom and the intellectual property protection, he said. " Any citizen can write a letter to express his or her concerns."
Beckstrom cited the example of a letter he recently got from the chief of the Zulus, expressing the intention to apply for the . zulu suffix for use by members of his tribe, who live across several African countries. The Catalan community in Spain is similarly using the .cat suffix.
"There is a higher standard for domain registration," Beckstrom said. "Individuals are not allowed to apply, only organizations can do that."
All prospective registry operators are appropriately reviewed for past criminal history, according to established criteria.
Beckstrom said that his organization is taking steps to protect legitimate domain name holders with what he called a trademark system.
The trademark system was designed in the Industrial Age and protects corporate marks only within countries and based on categories of activity. In contrast, web domains have to be unique globally, a problem that having more domains could help resolve, Beckstrom said, adding that a new ICANN clearinghouse for trademarks will ensure that brand holders are protected.
The clearinghouse will be operated by a third party under license or agreement with ICANN and replaces the need for trademark holders to register in many databases as new gTLDs are launched, explained Beckstrom.
(Source: Xinhua)
