China on Sunday said it aims to become a "great power" in the online world and took a swipe at
Washington on trade, kicking off its annual conference promoting the Communist Party's controlled and censored version of the internet.
US-China rivalry is increasingly playing out in the digital sphere, as
Beijing pursues dominance in next-generation technology while Washington takes measures to cripple Chinese tech firms like Huawei.
China heavily monitors and censors its internet, with US titans
Facebook,
Twitter and
Google all hidden behind a so-called "Great Firewall" that also blocks politically sensitive content.