The first public version of the Chinese Linux distribution OpenKylin has been released. OpenKylin aims to make the Chinese IT market less dependent on Windows and macOS.

The Linux distribution OpenKylin 1.0 was released late last week after several years of development. Various media refer to OpenKylin as a Chinese born and raised software, but this description requires some nuances. According to The Register, OpenKylin is a Linux distribution based on the Ubuntu kernel version 20.04.

OpenKylin’s settings menus and taskbar look the same as they did in Windows 11, with a few elements from macOS here and there. The biggest difference with Windows is that Microsoft is not responsible. WPS Office replaces Microsoft 365 Apps and the system’s default browser is Firefox.

For and by China

OpenKrylin may not have been born and raised entirely in China, but the software was clearly developed for and by Chinese IT users. Codenamed the Yangtze River, it refers to China’s largest river and the built-in weather application only displays dates for Chinese cities. In addition to a Chinese version, there is also an English version of the distribution.

The launch of OpenKylin also has strategic importance for the Chinese IT market. The relationship between Microsoft and the Chinese government has been fragile for years. Microsoft has developed a modified version of the Windows operating system for the Chinese market, but that has never stopped the government from looking for alternatives.

According to Reuters, the government is already deploying OpenKylin 1.0 in the country’s most critical infrastructure, including aerospace, finance and energy. The community behind OpenKylin states that the distribution already has nearly 900,000 users. As the trade war with the United States intensifies, China wants to be independent not only of hardware but also of software.

Chinese alternatives to popular Western software are therefore not uncommon. Baidu has been known as “the Chinese Google” for many years. With Huawei’s HarmonyOS, China now also has its own mobile operating system, which is slowly phasing out Android and iOS.