In a January 2017 speech, Xi spoke about how the "power to control the internet" had become the "new focal point of [China's] national strategic contest," and singled out the United States as a "rival force" standing in the way of the regime's ambitions, according to a government document relaying the speech's message.

The ultimate goal was for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to control all content on the global internet so that the regime could wield what Xi described as "discourse power" over communications and discussions on the world stage.

Xi articulated a vision of "using technology to rule the internet" to achieve total control over every part of the online ecosystem, such as applications, content, quality, capital, and manpower.

His remarks were made at the fourth leadership meeting of the regime's top internet regulator, the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, in Beijing on Jan. 4, 2017. They were summarized in internal documents issued by the Liaoning provincial government, located in northeastern China.

These statements confirm efforts made by Beijing within the past few years to promote its own authoritarian version of the internet as a model for the world.

In another speech, given in April 2016, Xi confidently proclaimed that in the "struggle" to control the internet, the CCP has pivoted from playing "passive defense" to playing both "attack and defense" at the same time, according to an internal document by the Anshan city government in Liaoning Province.