According to one Bloomberg publication, China's Ministry of State Security ordered some government agencies to remove the Windows 10 China Government Edition in order to use Linux distributions made in China.
Why not Windows 11? Because China, like many other governments outside the US, no longer trusts American companies with their software and services. This approach is about digital sovereignty.
Moreover, even before the recent trend of governments outside America abandoning Windows, Beijing had begun a long-standing effort to replace foreign technology on sensitive systems with domestic open-source alternatives.
Specifically, Chinese officials said they were concerned about the security of their data with Windows, but did not provide further details. Microsoft told Bloomberg that “Microsoft is not aware of any security incidents affecting this product, which continues to receive regular security updates.”
Windows 10 China Government Edition is not the version of Windows 10 you are using. It was developed by C&M Information Technologies (CMIT), a 2016 joint venture between Microsoft and the state-owned China Electronics Technology Group.
The specialized Chinese version of Windows was already scheduled for retirement in February 2027, but now its end date has been pushed back to 2026.
The Chinese government did not specify which Linux versions would replace Windows 10. However, the stock prices of Chinese Linux vendors Kylin Software and Tongxin Software Technology (commonly known as UnionTech) immediately skyrocketed.
These companies' respective operating systems, Kylin OS (no relation to Ubuntu Kylin) and UnionTech OS (UOS), are already used as native desktop and server replacements for Windows in government, state enterprise, and critical infrastructure environments.
Kylin Software's commercial Kylin series includes desktop, server, and specialized editions. There is also a free, fully open-source version called openKylin that anyone can use. UnionTech's UOS is based on Deepin and the Debian Linux family . Both vendors have focused on government and enterprise deployments rather than the consumer computing market.
This switch to Linux doesn't mean there will be a nationwide ban on all Windows installations in China. Windows Home China 11, a limited, factory-locked version that requires you to use only Chinese, is still available.
The scope of the directive remains unknown. However, the truth is clear: China's future government desktop will be Linux.
Although the press releases will range from very select to rare, I said I'd pass...because sometimes the editors hide.
