China wants to become more independent of software and chips from the West. It could create a new global IT ecosystem alongside Russia and other autocratic states.
No longer wanted in China: computer processors from the American company Intel.
Imago
China no longer wants Western manufacturers in its IT systems. Only Chinese solutions should be used in administration as soon as possible. According to the Financial Times, this is what a new guideline from the end of the year says. Specifically, laptops or servers will no longer run processors from American manufacturers Intel or AMD in the future. Microsoft’s Windows operating system should also disappear from the authorities’ computers.
The directive stipulates that only “safe and reliable” chips and operating systems may be used. The list of products that meet the requirement published at the end of December only includes those from Chinese suppliers. Among the permitted processors are, for example, models from HiSilicon, a subsidiary of Huawei. According to the Financial Times, the operating systems are derivatives of the open source product Linux.
The ban on Western products is in line with China’s long-term strategy. President Xi Jinping wants his country to one day be independent of Western technology, especially that from the USA.
“Xinchuang,” IT application innovation, is the name of the corresponding national strategy that the regime has been pursuing for several years. The government supports the development of Chinese operating systems, processors and computers. She is also concerned with data security and the vision of an IT landscape without any foreign products.
If the Chinese government has its way, the transition of administration and state-owned companies – away from Windows and Intel and towards Chinese products – should be completed by 2027. It remains to be seen whether this will succeed. Overall, western operating systems still dominate in China, as a look at the statistics shows.
At the end of 2023, according to the analysis platform Statcounter, around 80 percent of all computers in China were still running a Windows operating system. Another 5 percent work with OS X from Apple, another American manufacturer. The proportion of Western operating systems has declined slightly over the last few years, but is still very high.
Although Windows is losing market share, it still dominates in China
Market share of various operating systems in China, in percent
The West is engaged in a technology competition with China
It’s not just China that bans certain products from the West. Conversely, Western countries have also banned or even banned Chinese-made devices and software in recent years. Partly for the same reason: safety concerns.
The use of Huawei components in the new 5G mobile networks led to intensive discussions, including in the EU. There were fears that China could use this to spy on cell phone networks. Britain banned the installation of Huawei 5G network equipment in 2020. Other countries refrained from using Chinese providers without an official ban. In Germany, where 5G components from China are in use, the discussion only flared up again a few months ago.
There were similarly heated discussions in several Western countries about the video platform Tiktok. There, too, there is a fear that China could use the software for espionage. The USA, Canada and the EU, for example, have now banned their civil servants from installing Tiktok on their work cell phones. In the USA there is even a risk of the app being banned across the country. Despite the debate, Tiktok is still enormously popular in the West.
Criticism of Chinese products in the USA began in 2012, when there was an investigation into Huawei. The Chinese technology group was then seen as a security risk. In 2019, the American government finally banned American companies from supplying Huawei.
This decision had far-reaching consequences for Huawei. Because the cell phone software outside of China was based on Google’s Android. Huawei needed a new operating system because of the ban and developed its own: Harmony OS. This operating system is now installed on other Huawei devices such as tablets, televisions and smartwatches.
The impulse for Chinese in-house developments initially came from outside. Now China’s government is initiating the distribution of its own products by banning Windows systems and Intel processors. Perhaps the example of Harmony OS showed her that China can become more independent in the IT sector.
Tech companies are withdrawing from Russia
What began with mutual sanctions between the USA and China has the potential to become a global technology conflict: on the one hand the West, on the other the “axis of the sanctioned”, which includes China, Iran, North Korea and Russia can be. While Iran and North Korea have had restrictions for a long time, Russia has also increasingly had to do without IT solutions from the West since the attack on Ukraine two years ago.
Already in spring 2022, shortly after the start of the Ukraine war, several large tech companies such as Oracle and Amazon had restricted their activities in Russia. Microsoft suspended sales of new licenses for its products. When Cisco withdrew from Russia, it is said that it even destroyed spare parts for its mobile communications components on site. Due to new sanctions, Russian customers now risk losing access to cloud services from Microsoft or Amazon.
In some cases, Russia is now voluntarily foregoing Western software – due to security concerns. A few weeks after the attack on Ukraine, there were media reports that the authorities would no longer use American products such as Webex, Zoom or WhatsApp for video conferences.
Russia’s desire for independence is so great that government officials could possibly even get cell phones with their own operating system. There was talk of plans last year whereby the devices would use Aurora OS. The Russian operating system was developed from 2016 and is based on Linux. However, the distribution is still low and the range of apps is limited. China is much further ahead.
Western companies are losing market share
The reasons for turning away from Western computer technology may be complex. Sanctions, security concerns and protectionism play a role. The effect is always the same: technological alternatives gain momentum. And this is likely to have both economic and geopolitical consequences.
Huawei’s operating system Harmony OS – born out of necessity – has now established itself on the company’s own devices. According to Huawei, the software is already used millions of times on devices from other manufacturers in China. This is a setback for “Made in USA” technology. It is losing market share in China.
The ban on Western processors and operating systems is likely to further strengthen this trend. Because China is favoring the development of the domestic tech industry through its protectionist measures. This increases China’s independence and makes Chinese companies competitive worldwide.
Once Huawei and Co. produce attractive software and hardware that is also priced below that of Western competitors, it will radically change the global computer technology market. China’s own production will find buyers, especially in developing and emerging countries. Millions of people may be able to afford their own computer for the first time.
China can set its own standards in the future
The rise of in-house developments would also strengthen China’s geopolitical influence. Alternatives to the Windows operating system or Intel chips would also be interesting for Russia, Iran or other autocratic countries. They all have a common interest: getting out of dependence on Western technology.
Together, an alternative IT ecosystem could emerge that does not require American products – and therefore also without Western regulations or data protection regulations. China could define the applicable standards itself. The alternative world order postulated by Beijing would take on a technological dimension.