China gets an open-source computer operating system

For a long time, China's tech industry has been striving to create an independent operating system, reducing reliance on U.S. technology. Several Chinese companies have been developing operating systems as potential alternatives to Microsoft's Windows and Apple's MacOS.

Now, China has now unveiled its first homegrown open-source desktop operating system called OpenKylin, marking a significant step in reducing dependency on U.S. technology according to China's local state media.

OpenKylin is based on the Linux operating system and was developed by a community of around 4,000 developers. It has already been adopted in sectors such as the country's space program, finance, and energy industries.

Drawing inspiration from the Chinese mythological creature 'Qilin,' OpenKylin is built upon the long-term-supported Linux Kernel 6.1. It aims to cater to China's massive operating system market, which was valued at 15.5 billion yuan ($2.1 billion) last year, according to state media reports.

The China Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team, operating under the Industry and Information Technology Ministry, supports OpenKylin. However, some have raised questions about the authenticity of the information provided by Chinese state media claiming that OpenKylin seems to be based on Ubuntu 20.04, using an Ubuntu-flagged build of GCC 9.3, which indicates it is not entirely independent.

Despite these discussions, the release of OpenKylin 1.0 signifies China's growing influence and innovation in the field of desktops.