China rolls out desktop OS in bid to wean itself off foreign tech

It eyes greater self-sufficiency but faces uphill task getting citizens to use software widely

- Lim Min Zhang

BEIJING - China is ramping up efforts to wean itself off foreign technology by launching its first open-source desktop operating system (OS) earlier in July, but it faces an uphill task getting its citizens to use it widely.

The OS, called OpenKylin and developed by state-owned China Electronics Corp - formed in 1989 to build home-grown semiconductors, software and telecommunications products - is aimed at replacing foreign-owned software that currently dominates the market. It did not set a timeline for achieving this.

The project is Beijing's latest move to build greater self-sufficiency amid tech sanctions such as those on Huawei and ZTE - over "national security" concerns by the United States.

The Chinese authorities had in 2019 ordered all government offices and public institutions to remove foreign computer equipment and software in three years.

"A lot of the major software, especially Windows, is controlled by US companies," said Associate Professor of Computer Science Ben Leong from the National University of Singapore. "There is nothing stopping the US from passing some law to force US companies to stop support for China and Chinese companies."

China is still a long way from dislodging the incumbents, such as Microsoft's Windows and Apple's MacOS.