Bo Ma is an Associate Professor at the School of International Studies, Nanjing University. He earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from the Graduate Center, City University of New York, and holds advanced degrees from Queen Mary University of London (LLM), New York University, the London School of Economics, and Beijing Normal University. He has held fellowships including the Wang Gungwu Visiting Fellowship at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute and a British Chevening Scholarship, and was a Visiting Fellow at the Australian Centre on China in the World, Australian National University.

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University profile

China’s assertive engagement in cyberspace governance under Xi Jinping represents a significant shift in global cyber norms and international legal practices. Central to this evolution is China’s robust advocacy for cyber sovereignty—the notion that states possess exclusive jurisdiction over their digital domains. This paper examines China's recent domestic legislation, including the Cybersecurity Law, Data Security Law, and Personal Information Protection Law, highlighting how these laws institutionalize cyber sovereignty and extend China's regulatory influence extraterritorially. Internationally, China's proactive role in shaping cyberspace norms—through initiatives like the Global Initiative on Data Security (GIDS) and active diplomacy within the United Nations Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) and Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG)—demonstrates a deliberate strategy to counter Western-led multistakeholder governance models and establish state-centric cyber norms.

Simultaneously, China's perspective on cyber conflict and the use of force remains cautious, underscoring a preference for peaceful conflict resolution and resistance to applying traditional military paradigms directly to cyberspace. This approach has significant implications for international law, particularly regarding thresholds for self-defense and attribution of cyber operations. Drawing on recent legal developments, international diplomacy, and scholarly debates, the paper critically assesses the coherence between China’s stated policies and its practices, addressing Western concerns about cybersecurity, espionage, and global data governance fragmentation.

Ultimately, the paper argues that China's normative project—characterized by rigorous domestic control coupled with assertive international advocacy—presents both opportunities and challenges for global cyberspace stability. While promoting certain universally beneficial norms such as cybercrime cooperation and critical infrastructure protection, China's insistence on sovereignty and state primacy may deepen global divisions. This research thus provides an essential lens through which policymakers and international stakeholders can better understand China's cyber strategy, negotiate points of convergence, and mitigate emerging risks of disorder in cyberspace governance.