Its predecessor was "Zhongguancun Education and Scientific Research Demonstration Network" (NCFC), which was undertaken by China Academy of Sciences.1Aug.989. 1In April, 1994, NCFC took the lead in directly connecting with American NSFNET, realizing the full-function network connection between China and the Internet, marking the birth of the earliest Internet in China. 1February, 1995, the networking project of 100 Chinese Academy of Sciences was completed. 1In February, 1996, China Academy of Sciences decided to officially name CASNET developed on the basis of NCFC as "CSTNET".

CSTNET is the earliest top Internet in China. As one of the top ten Internet operators in China, CSTNET has undertaken nearly 100 network projects such as CASNET and "100" networking based on the technical advantages of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and customized various technical solutions for users. It provides information technology support for the analysis and prediction center of the State Seismological Bureau, the calculation center of the National Bureau of Statistics and the Beijing Economic Information Center.