China Next Generation Internet

The China Next Generation Internet (CNGI) (simplified Chinese: 中国下一代互联网; traditional Chinese: 中國下一代互聯網; pinyin: Zhōngguó Xià Yīdài Hùliánwǎng) project is a five-year plan initiated by the Chinese government with the purpose of gaining a significant position in the future development of the Internet through the early adoption of IPv6.

According to a brochure entitled "CNGI-CERNET2/61X", the CNGI effort's key tasks were as follows:

IPv6 was selected as key technology. The United States has almost one third of the theoretical maximum IPv4 addresses (about 4.3 billion [255^4 - 19M] ), while China has more high-speed Internet users than IP addresses and the largest Internet user base of any country. With the implementation of IPv6, China planned to avoid imminent problems of IPv4 address exhaustion.

The origins of CNGI date to 2001 when 57 members of the Chinese Academy of Science and Chinese Academy of Engineering wrote a letter to the State Council recommending construction of the next generation academic Internet. In 2002 the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) organized a study of the topic, and in 2003 the study group submitted a strategic report. After authorization, the CNGI was then launched under the auspices of eight ministries: NDRC as the lead, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Information Industry, the State Council Information Office, Chinese Academy of Science, Chinese Academy of Engineering, and the National Natural Science Foundation.

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