Robots made by students of Wuhan Institute of Technology University during an electronics expo in Wuhan, Hubei Province. (Photo : Reuters)
The Chinese government may soon replace more products made by foreign technology companies with local ones amid growing cybersecurity concerns.
A Global Times report quoted Li Yi, secretary-general of the China Mobile Internet Industry Alliance, as saying that China is allowing more local tech products in the market while foreign-made products were dropped or rejected.
IT experts said that they are expecting more foreign tech products to be shelved or dropped in the coming years, followed by state-controlled companies and institutions, especially those involved in banking, aviation and audit.
A Beijing-based IT expert defended the government move, saying that governments of other countries are doing similar action since the threat of cybersecurity breach is a global concern.
Experts, however, said that the preference for local products does not mean that foreign-made tech products will be banned or locked out.
Reuters reported on Feb. 25 that many foreign technology vendors were left out from the latest procurement list of the government released by the Central Government Procurement Center.
The report said that since two years ago, the number of approved foreign tech products has dropped by one-third based on data that was not released to the public.
The authority to approve the list of products, including the type and brand, rests on the Ministry of Finance, the procurement center said.
Reuters said that the ministry issued on Feb. 25 the outline of priorities on government purchases for 2015, but did not mention preference for local brands.
The report said that some of the foreign tech firms that were allegedly dropped from the procurement list include U.S.-based companies, such as Cisco, Apple, McAfee and Citrix Systems.
The report showed that the number of local tech products on the government list has increased.
