Chapter 14: An Assessment of the Strategic Situation in Cyberspace
This essay was translated by Cui Li and proofread by Hou Songshan and Wu Chengyi.
The year 2015 has witnessed an in-depth evolution of the strategic game in international cyberspace, with four pairs of core contradictions highlighted: the contradiction between national strategic demands and international responsibilities in cyberspace; that between the militarization of cyberspace promoted by the United States and the peace and stability in international cyberspace; that between international cooperation in cyberspace and major power geopolitical games, and that between national cyber codes of conduct and international cyber governance framework. Throughout the year, significant developments with regard to the strategic situation in cyberspace could be summarized as follows: terrorist attacks posed challenges to the European cyberspace strategy; the United States further pushed forward the militarization of cyberspace; the international community made great strides in the development of codes of conduct in international cyberspace within the framework of the United Nations; China–U.S. cooperation in cyberspace played an important role in stabilizing the international cyberspace situation. All of these latest developments are actually the concrete manifestation of the four pairs of core contradictions in international cyberspace.