Key Events

Apr.13On April 13, SINA was listed on NASDAQ

In 2000, China's Internet industry was thriving. Huge influx of foreign venture capital triggered an upsurge in investment in China's Internet industry. First-tier Internet companies at that time were ready to go public abroad. On April 13, 2000, SINA was the first to go public in NASDAQ, followed closely by NETEASE and SOHU which were qualified for listing within several months afterwards.

Dec.28On December 28, the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Safeguarding Internet Security was adopted

On December 28, 2000, the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Safeguarding Internet Security (the "Decision") was adopted at the nineteenth session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress, with an aim to promote healthy Internet development, safeguard national security and public interest, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of individuals, legal persons and other organizations. The Decision is the first legal document on Internet supervision adopted by the National People's Congress of China.

Despite the fact that China's Internet market was going through hard times in 2000 due to the NASDAQ crash, the impact of the government's attention to and management of the information industry was undeniably significant and far-reaching. In this year, governments at all levels introduced dozens of policies, regulations and standards related to the Internet, covering everything from governments to businesses, from commerce to people's daily life, and from finance to education. The scope and range of Internet regulation were unprecedented. In addition to the Decision, a number of other national policies, regulations and administrative measures were also introduced in 2000, specifically:

Regulations on the Protection of Secrets on Internationally Networked Computer Information Systems, promulgated by the National Administration for the Protection of State Secrets on January 1

Interim Provisions on the Administration of Online Securities Brokerage, promulgated by China Securities Regulatory Commission on March 30

Provisions on Supervision and Administration of Pilot Implementation of E-commerce Methods, in Pharmaceutical Business promulgated by the State Drug Administration of China on June 26

Interim Provisions on the Administration of Education Websites and Internet Schools, promulgated by the Ministry of Education on June 29

Several Policies for Encouraging the Development of the Software Industry and the Integrated Circuit Industry, promulgated by the State Council in June

Telecommunications Regulations of the People's Republic of China, promulgated by the State Council on September 25

Measures for Managing Internet Information Services, promulgated by the State Council on September 25

Proposal of the CPC Central Committee for the Formulation of the Tenth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development, reviewed and adopted by the Fifth Plenary Session of the Fifteenth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on October 11

Interim Provisions on the Administration of News Publishing Activities by Websites, promulgated by the State Council Information Office and the Ministry of Information Industry on November 6

Provisions on Administration of Internet Electronic Messaging Services, promulgated by the Ministry of Information Industry On November 6

Circular on the Administration of Chinese Internet Domain Names, issued by the Ministry of Information Industry on November 7

Interpretation of Some Issues Concerning Applicable Laws in Cases Involving Computer Network Copyright Disputes, promulgated by the Supreme People's Court on November 22

Among them, Telecommunications Regulations of the People's Republic of China is China's first comprehensive telecommunications legislation, establishing legal ground rules for the development of China's telecommunications industry. The introduction of these Internet-related regulations and policies shows that the Chinese government is building its knowledge of and attaching greater importance to the Internet industry. It also shows that the government's regulation of the Internet industry is improving.

Nov.In November, China Mobile rolled out the Monternet Program

In April, China Mobile Communications Corporation ("China Mobile") was formally incorporated. In November 2000, China Mobile launched the Monternet Program which was developed based on the i-Mode business mode of a Japanese company, NTT DoCoMo. The Monternet Program was officially put into operation in December.

It aimed at creating an Internet value chain characterized by openness, cooperation and mutual benefits, extending China Mobile's closed network to its partners and providing diversified value-added services across the country by taking advantage of the resources of its increasing number of partners. It was the first time that the domestic mobile communication market got rid of the closed network business model and created a new business model that connects operators, terminals, clients and service providers with operators in the center, characterized by division of labor, harmonization in the industry and all-win partnerships. It is a radical innovation that transforms the traditional system of China's telecommunication industry.

Relying on mobile phones and instant messaging technology, Monternet broke the barriers between information service providers and the consumer market, opened the door to Internet value-added services and provided a platform that directly brought end customers and profits to service providers. SMS provided by Monternet and service providers, in particular, generated unprecedented revenues and profits for China's Internet industry. As a result, SMS is recognized as the first killer application for the Internet. Afterwards, Monternet launched MMS, mobile Internet, "Treasure Box", IVR and other value-added services, and the value-added services industry quickly achieved the goal of large-scale industrialization.

Monternet helped boost the transformation of China Mobile. From 2001 to 2002, the contribution of data service revenues to China Mobile increased from 2.1% to 6.4%; its mobile communication platform, billing system and other sectors were also improved. Monternet created a bridge between data service providers and consumers and helped China Mobile realize a gradual extension of fixed networks to mobile networks. Meanwhile, Monternet also led to the rapid development of data services and handset manufacturing industries.

Monternet has very important implications for the development of China's Internet industry: it created a new mechanism, pushing the telecommunications industry to climb out of the box of the closed network model, driving forward the reform and system innovation of the mobile service industry; it also created a value chain with the aim of achieving win-win cooperation, mutual benefit and common prosperity. Therefore, the Monternet Program has become a classic case frequently cited in by MBA programs in China.

2000In January and December, Alibaba received USD 20 million and USD 25 million investment respectively

The year 2000 saw the flourishing of the e-commerce industry. Alibaba received a large amount of investment and began to grow rapidly. In January, the Japanese Internet investment firm SoftBank invested USD 20 million in Alibaba and formed a business alliance with it; Sun Zhengyi served as chief adviser to Alibaba; in December, Alibaba received another investment of USD 25 million from Softbank and other overseas consortia. It was unprecedented for a firm to obtain USD 45 million of investment from Softbank within one year. While its business model was highly recognized by investors, Alibaba also began to set foot in the field of payment services with steady steps. Following China Merchants Bank, ICBC joined hands with Alibaba to launch B2B online payment services in August 2000. This laid a solid foundation for the rapid rise of Alibaba's e-commerce empire.

In July 2000, Jack Ma's photo appeared on the cover of Forbes, the world's top financial magazine. He is the first Chinese entrepreneur to appear on the cover of Forbes in 50 years. And Alibaba was honored by Forbes as "Best of the Web: B2B", Following this, Alibaba quickly grew into the world's largest B2B website.