Beijing wants to level up China's software industry, with an emphasis on FOSS
(2021/12/01)
- Reference: 1638341827
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/12/01/china_five_year_software_plan/
- Source link:
China's software industry is underperforming internationally and needs to lean into open source technology to improve, the nation's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) on Tuesday.
"Software is the soul of a new generation of information technology, the foundation of digital economic development, and the key support for the construction of manufacturing power, network power and digital China," according to a (machine-translated) [1]announcement from the Ministry.
The document boasts that great strides were made in China's software industry under the the 13th five-year plan, which ran from 2016–20, but is also is critical about the state of software in China.
[2]
MIIT said China has has a fragile software supply chain, lacks depth in homegrown applications, and just doesn't value software or intellectual property.
[3]
[4]
A lack of skilled developers is a symptom and a cause of those issues.
The Ministry is also concerned about international competitiveness, and suggests deeper international exchanges and open cooperation so that China improves its software prowess to reach an equal footing with global players.
[5]
Among the plans to improve the state of homegrown software is a call to develop an "emerging field of software products with ecological influence by 2025", some of it developed in one of 20 new Chinese software parks.
China also wants to build "two or three open source communities with international influence."
The overall plan places importance on homegrown open source software, describing the trend of enterprises embracing the collaborative tech as "obvious" and admitting that "the construction of open source ecology in China is still in its infancy."
[6]
MIIT cites a lack of open source foundations, insufficient control of the underlying technology, a weak open source culture and a need for policy support as constraints to China's leadership in the FOSS field.
The document does wax lyrical about the virtues of open source software, eventually sharing the quote that "software defines the world of the future, open source determines the future of software."
[7]HPE sees 'no indication' its tech was sold to Chinese military, seeks answers from Uncle Sam on sanctions
[8]Warning: China planning to swipe a bunch of data soon, so quantum computers can decrypt it later
[9]Bad news for Tencent: Chinese companies steer employees away from Weixin or WeChat
[10]Huawei's AppGallery riddled with malware-infected games
China reckons its can level up. "With an average annual growth rate of more than 12 per cent, the industrial structure is more optimized and the comprehensive strength has reached a new level,” argued MIIT.
The Middle Kingdom does currently have one open source foundation: the [11]Open Atom Open Source Foundation . It works on FOSS hardware, silicon, and content. The organisation also assists open source projects to manage their IP and prevent copyright disputes, and helps to find funding for open source efforts.
Huawei has recently [12]donated its EulerOS - a cut of Linux - to Open Atom.
Undoubtedly in gratitude for its efforts, Huawei has been name-checked in the MIIT document – described as a "famous product" that "stands out" as its "international influence continues to grow". Huawei is the only company called out by name in the document, and there is no mention of its international influence being [13]hindered by US sanctions.
The [14]14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Software and Information Technology Services wasn't the only plan announced yesterday. The Ministry also issued a [15]similar plan on its Big Data industry. China plans to triple the size of it s Big Data sector in the next five years, and calls for a focus on the technology required to do so while ensuring national data security. ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.miit.gov.cn/zwgk/zcjd/art/2021/art_a17cabe7fdb54174aa5da14553ae6cb4.html
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YadV8YFcWNN5MJw@vY5XKQAAAI4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YadV8YFcWNN5MJw@vY5XKQAAAI4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YadV8YFcWNN5MJw@vY5XKQAAAI4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YadV8YFcWNN5MJw@vY5XKQAAAI4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YadV8YFcWNN5MJw@vY5XKQAAAI4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/29/hpe_china_sanctions/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/29/china_quantum_ai_offensive/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/26/companies_ban_wechat/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/25/huaweis_appgallery_games_targeting_children/
[11] https://www.openatom.org/#/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/12/huawei_euler_os_foss/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2021/08/09/huawei_h1_2021_smic_q2_2021/
[14] https://www.miit.gov.cn/zwgk/zcwj/wjfb/tz/art/2021/art_587ca7f076db43a499400525e0c6a244.html
[15] https://www.miit.gov.cn/zwgk/zcwj/wjfb/tz/art/2021/art_c4a16fae377f47519036b26b474123cb.html
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
"Software is the soul of a new generation of information technology, the foundation of digital economic development, and the key support for the construction of manufacturing power, network power and digital China," according to a (machine-translated) [1]announcement from the Ministry.
The document boasts that great strides were made in China's software industry under the the 13th five-year plan, which ran from 2016–20, but is also is critical about the state of software in China.
[2]
MIIT said China has has a fragile software supply chain, lacks depth in homegrown applications, and just doesn't value software or intellectual property.
[3]
[4]
A lack of skilled developers is a symptom and a cause of those issues.
The Ministry is also concerned about international competitiveness, and suggests deeper international exchanges and open cooperation so that China improves its software prowess to reach an equal footing with global players.
[5]
Among the plans to improve the state of homegrown software is a call to develop an "emerging field of software products with ecological influence by 2025", some of it developed in one of 20 new Chinese software parks.
China also wants to build "two or three open source communities with international influence."
The overall plan places importance on homegrown open source software, describing the trend of enterprises embracing the collaborative tech as "obvious" and admitting that "the construction of open source ecology in China is still in its infancy."
[6]
MIIT cites a lack of open source foundations, insufficient control of the underlying technology, a weak open source culture and a need for policy support as constraints to China's leadership in the FOSS field.
The document does wax lyrical about the virtues of open source software, eventually sharing the quote that "software defines the world of the future, open source determines the future of software."
[7]HPE sees 'no indication' its tech was sold to Chinese military, seeks answers from Uncle Sam on sanctions
[8]Warning: China planning to swipe a bunch of data soon, so quantum computers can decrypt it later
[9]Bad news for Tencent: Chinese companies steer employees away from Weixin or WeChat
[10]Huawei's AppGallery riddled with malware-infected games
China reckons its can level up. "With an average annual growth rate of more than 12 per cent, the industrial structure is more optimized and the comprehensive strength has reached a new level,” argued MIIT.
The Middle Kingdom does currently have one open source foundation: the [11]Open Atom Open Source Foundation . It works on FOSS hardware, silicon, and content. The organisation also assists open source projects to manage their IP and prevent copyright disputes, and helps to find funding for open source efforts.
Huawei has recently [12]donated its EulerOS - a cut of Linux - to Open Atom.
Undoubtedly in gratitude for its efforts, Huawei has been name-checked in the MIIT document – described as a "famous product" that "stands out" as its "international influence continues to grow". Huawei is the only company called out by name in the document, and there is no mention of its international influence being [13]hindered by US sanctions.
The [14]14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Software and Information Technology Services wasn't the only plan announced yesterday. The Ministry also issued a [15]similar plan on its Big Data industry. China plans to triple the size of it s Big Data sector in the next five years, and calls for a focus on the technology required to do so while ensuring national data security. ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.miit.gov.cn/zwgk/zcjd/art/2021/art_a17cabe7fdb54174aa5da14553ae6cb4.html
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YadV8YFcWNN5MJw@vY5XKQAAAI4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YadV8YFcWNN5MJw@vY5XKQAAAI4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YadV8YFcWNN5MJw@vY5XKQAAAI4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YadV8YFcWNN5MJw@vY5XKQAAAI4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YadV8YFcWNN5MJw@vY5XKQAAAI4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/29/hpe_china_sanctions/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/29/china_quantum_ai_offensive/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/26/companies_ban_wechat/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/25/huaweis_appgallery_games_targeting_children/
[11] https://www.openatom.org/#/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/12/huawei_euler_os_foss/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2021/08/09/huawei_h1_2021_smic_q2_2021/
[14] https://www.miit.gov.cn/zwgk/zcwj/wjfb/tz/art/2021/art_587ca7f076db43a499400525e0c6a244.html
[15] https://www.miit.gov.cn/zwgk/zcwj/wjfb/tz/art/2021/art_c4a16fae377f47519036b26b474123cb.html
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Deepin
Anonymous Coward
.... and lots of malware
"patience with cultural differences"
LDS
They don't worry me much. The political ones do.
Let's see if FOSS will be full of "useful idiots" or not. China bets on finding enough.
Re: Deepin
AMBxx
I'm currently attending a Postgres online conference. I was surprise to see Huawei on the list of contributors. Surprised that this hasn't been picked up in government quarters.
Wow!
AMBxx
>> just doesn't value software or intellectual property.
I wonder who they blame for that!!
"open source communities with international influence."
steelpillow
Why do they need "international influence"? Historically China has followed the traditional route of ripping off Western F/LOSS, only to learn the hard way that if you want support you gotta play open too. Now they want to push back the other way, but what's in it for them? What exactly do they anticipate pushing back into the international codebase? Chinese language support? Their bugs, for us to fix? Great Firewall subservience? Cisco-style backdoors (one Huawei or another)? Maybe to sell support services back to us?
Still, if international influence means that Pinyin inline comments are unacceptable and have to be translated into intelligible English, the whole exercise might end up a tad subversive. Interesting times.
Spies
elsergiovolador
The Ministry is also concerned about international competitiveness, and suggests deeper international exchanges
According to Chinese security law, every Chinese citizen can be asked to spy on behalf of CPC. They cannot refuse.
Good luck with that.
Deepin
I suspect this will lead to the promotion of Deepin OS as well as one of those communities. Looking at the Deepin Linux Chinese forums, there are about 30 new topics being posted a day. I just hope they upstream any improvements into Linux proper.
Worldwide adoption of open source software for everyone's benefit could really be helped by Chinese developers adding hundreds of thousands of more minds to it. The west just need to be accepting of the incoming translation issues and patience with cultural differences.