Chinese OS Policy
The Chinese government is expanding the use of its own operating system (OS) for PCs, as seen by its measure established in May to ban the use of Windows 8 for newly-purchased PCs in public institutions. As a result, Beijing’s endeavor to wean itself from Microsoft’s Windows OS is likely to be a big burden for Microsoft which is pushing ahead with its strategy to induce people to migrate from Windows XP to Windows 8.
According to industry sources on June 9, the Chinese government’s policy to use a locally-made OS for PCs is intensifying. On May 16, the government ordered the Central Government Procurement Center to exclude PCs and tablets, on which Windows 8 was installed, from its bidding items.
This measure is widely acknowledged as Beijing’s effort to raise the stakes in preventing problems related to the end of Microsoft’s official support for Windows XP. Xinhua News Agency reported, “The Chinese government took a preventive measure to reduce the further use of the defunct OS like Windows XP,” adding, “The government did so to prevent a similar situation from occurring in the future.”
Beijing is expected to strengthen a policy to use its own Linux-based operating platform for PCs, following this measure. Since 2010, the Chinese government has pursued an OS project, but has not succeeded in the distribution or widespread use of its own OS. However, the government is expected to expand the distribution of its own OS, together with academic circles and IT companies, starting with its recent move to ban the use of Windows 8. China is heavily dependent on the Windows OS to the extent that it run 97 percent of the computers in the nation. Thus, an increasing number of voices are calling for the country’s OS dependence.
The local software industry believes that Korea should keep a close eye on the Chinese government’s measure, since Korea is one of the countries that are also heavily reliant on Windows OSes, although the nation is less dependent than China. An official in the software industry remarked, “Since our country is heavily reliant on Windows OS, the situation at home is not that different from that in China.” The official concluded by saying, “Microsoft’s technical support for other Windows versions will eventually end, like in the case of Windows XP. So, it is necessary to come up with a measure to address the problem.”