US and Chinese Policy Expectations of the Internet

Since embarking upon the processes of modernization and globalization in the late 1970s, China’s policy toward technology has been geared toward building the nation’s economic and political strength, and ultimately reinforcing and proving China’s superiority as a socialist nation. Ironically, US policy toward China has promoted technology transfer and technological transformation based upon a deep-seated mythology of technology, which assumes that technology will fundamentally alter China’s socialist economic and political system. This article examines the conflicting expectations of the two governments about the likely impact of the internet and the steps each nation has attempted to ensure that certain outcomes do occur. Finally, the article discusses the actual impact of the internet on governance and political change in China.