Based on his new book, Cyber Policy in China (Cambridge: Polity 2014), which was launched at the Brookings Institution on 9 December 2014, Dr Greg Austin gives a short presentation on the diplomacy pursued by China to secure its information society ambitions from 1983 to date. The country’s leaders have consistently given economic cooperation with the West and technology transfer from it in the ICT sector a higher priority than combative or adversarial positions. Yet, we now see a clear contest between China and the United States on certain aspects of cyber policy, especially internet governance, freedom of information and espionage. Dr Austin addresses prospects for change and implications for Australia. He provides a critical analysis of claims by the United States about China’s commercial espionage against the background of the country’s deep integration in the global ICT economy.