The tension between China and the United States has been intensifying since the U.S. government banned Huawei from buying technology made by American companies back in May of this year. Now, in what appears to be the latest development in this conflict, China is reportedly planning to remove all foreign computer equipment from its government offices, according to the Financial Times (via The Guardian).
The Chinese government plans to remove all devices - which could be anywhere from 20 to 30 million - in just three years, which would be a very fast transition. The plan is to remove 30% of devices in 2020, then another 50% in 2021, and the last 20% in 2022.
Naturally, this would be a huge blow to any company outside of China that"s making these devices, including HP, Dell, and many others. But even Chinese companies, like Lenovo, would be affected, because many components of their PCs, including processors, are made by companies outside of China. Not to mention, many machines run Windows, which would also be barred from usage in Chinese government offices.
This move is just another one of many signs that the tension between the U.S. and China shows no signs of stopping. Last year, it was ZTE that was banned from dealing with American companies, and China was reported to be speeding up its chip manufacturing so as to stop relying on U.S. companies. Earlier this year, it was also reported that China would be creating a list of unreliable foreign firms following the ban imposed on Huawei. Many companies have also been reported to be moving manufacturing facilities out of China due to fears that the relationship between the two countries will get even worse.