A sample survey found that over 60 percent of netizens had a positive opinion of the fact that the government gives wide scope to the Internet's role in supervision, and considered it a manifestation of China's socialist democracy and progress, the paper said.

"The Chinese government believes that the Internet is an important infrastructure facility for the nation. Within Chinese territory the Internet is under the jurisdiction of Chinese sovereignty," it said, stressing that the Internet sovereignty of China should be respected and protected.

According to the paper, computer crimes in China have been on the increase in recent years.

Public security departments dealt with 142 computer crime cases in 1998, 29,000 in 2007, 35,000 in 2008 and 48,000 in 2009.

"China is one of the countries suffering most from hacking," it said.

According to incomplete statistics, more than one million IP addresses in China were controlled from overseas in 2009, 42,000 websites were distorted by hackers.

Besides, 18 million Chinese computers are infected by the Conficker virus every month, about 30 percent of the computers infected globally.

National situations and cultural traditions differ among countries, and so concern about Internet security also differs, the paper said.

"Concerns about Internet security of different countries should be fully respected," it said.

The Chinese government will constantly adjust relevant policies to better match the inherent law and the objective requirements of the development and administration of the Internet, according to the paper.

The 31-page document is divided into six sections: Endeavors to Spur the Development and Application of the Internet, Promoting the Extensive Use of the Internet, Guaranteeing Citizens' Freedom of Speech on the Internet, Basic Principles and Practices of Internet Administration, Protecting Internet Security, and Active International Exchanges and Cooperation.