The World Internet Conference officially got underway in Wuzhen of Zhejiang province on Wednesday, with President Xi Jinping calling for faster innovative and secure development of cyberspace to create a better digital future.

This year's Wuzhen summit — the country's biggest internet forum — focuses on artificial intelligence and its impact on humanity.

Speaking via a video link, Xi said the new technology had brought both opportunities and unpredictable challenges.

“New technologies, like AI, are flourishing. This has greatly enhanced humanity's capacity to understand and shape the world we live in, and at the same time presented us with a series of unpredictable risks and challenges,” the president said.

Xi said China would work with other countries in information revolution and development to harness the internet’s potential for greater global benefits.

“China stands ready to work with all countries to seize the historical initiative in information revolution and development, and build a community with a shared future in cyberspace, so that together we can enable the internet to deliver greater benefits to the people and to the world.”

Also speaking at the opening ceremony, Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang said the country's cutting-edge technologies had delivered fruitful outcomes.

“So far, China has put in place the world's largest network infrastructure with advanced technology and the internet has been available to 78 percent of the population.” he said.

Ding proposed four points for building a shared future in cyberspace, including improving global governance, strengthening tech collaboration, promoting fairness and universal benefits in internet use, and upholding laws and regulations for cybersecurity protection.

Concluding his speech, the vice premier and Politburo Standing Committee member expressed hopes for active dialogue during the summit to build a shared future in cyberspace.