China has instructed central government agencies and state-backed companies to replace foreign-brand PCs and software with domestic alternatives within two years. The decision follows China’s decade-long campaign to replace imported technology with local alternatives.
According to Bloomberg sources familiar with the matter, it would replace at least 50 million PCs at the central government level alone. This will affect the sales of US groups HP and Dell Technologies, which are the largest PC brands in the country after Chinese manufacturer Lenovo.
China intends to completely abandon foreign equipment at the level of state institutions in order to stop depending on the United States and other geopolitical rivals that can impose their sanctions on the country.
As the first step, China will support Linux-based operating systems to replace Microsoft’s Windows. According to one source, one of the leading providers of such tools is Chinese software developer Standard Software.
The PC replacement project is expected to be completed within two years. The publication notes that China is likely to abandon only the PC and software brands, but not hard-to-replace components like processors and GPUs. Some agencies, including state media and cybersecurity authorities, may continue to purchase foreign equipment with special permits.
