(Reuters) – China has introduced guidelines to phase out U.S. Intel and AMD microprocessors from government computers and servers, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
The procurement guidelines also call for setting aside Microsoft's Windows operating system and foreign database software in favor of domestic options, the report said.
Government agencies at the township level and above have been directed to include standards in their purchases that require “safe and reliable” processors and operating systems, the paper said.
In late December, China's Ministry of Industry issued a statement containing three separate lists of CPUs, operating systems, and centralized databases that will be deemed “safe and reliable” for three years from the date of the announcement, all from Chinese companies. A Reuters investigation revealed that.
The State Council Press Office, which handles media inquiries for China's cabinet, the State Council, did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment.
Intel and AMD did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
With the Biden administration's CHIPS/Science Act of 2022, the United States aims to increase domestic semiconductor production and reduce dependence on China and Taiwan.
It is aimed at strengthening U.S. semiconductors and includes financial aid for domestic production as well as subsidies for the production of advanced chips.
(Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, William Mallard and Lincoln Feast)
