China is "obsessed" with the internet, according to Google's executive chairman, Eric Schmidt. He's referring to the Chinese government, but the statement could be applied to the whole nation. In the battle of online censorship between government and people, Schmidt believes the people will eventually win, Reuters reported.

"The most interesting thing about talking to the government, from the president all the way to the governors, is that they are obsessed with the Internet, which is why they passed these laws," Schmidt said at a conference held in London and organized by the independent policy institution, Chatham House.

Most recently, Schmidt is referring to a law passed several weeks before he met with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Kequiang (earlier this month) in which users responsible for "online rumors" that were re-posted over 500 times would be subject to "harsh penalties," according to Reuters.

At the conference, Schmidt mentioned the meeting but he wouldn't comment on its particulars, Reuters reported. His opinion (and his company's opinion) on Jinping and Kequiang's online regulations, however, were made clear.

"You simply cannot imprison enough Chinese people when they all agree to something," Schmidt said. "You won't be able to stop it even if you don't like it, and it will cause a liberalization."

Google moved the headquarters of its Chinese search engine services to Hong Kong in 2010 because of censorship, according to Reuters.

Schmidt is worried Russia will be next. It began regulation the internet following Putin's third term re-election in 2012, according to Cnet.

"We're worried that Russia is on a path" toward a Chinese model of Internet censorship," Schmidt said.