© Matthias Balk / Global Look Press
China has ordered all foreign components removed from the computers of government agencies and public institutions. The move is expected to negatively impact companies such as HP, Dell, and Microsoft.
While most Chinese government computers are Lenovo-branded, components such as hardware, chips, and operating systems are often North American.
Analysts polled by the Financial Times estimate that the US giants profit about $150 billion annually from the Chinese market, including public and private customers.
The move is in response to the recent decision by US Google, Intel and Qualcomm to terminate cooperation projects with Chinese Huawei , which would have taken the lead in the development of 5G technology.
"China's 3-5-2 programme is just the tip of the new spear," said Mr Triolo. "The goal is clear: getting to a space largely free of the type of threats that ZTE, Huawei, Megvii, and Sugon now face," he added, naming some of the Chinese companies that over the past two years have been blocked from buying from US suppliers
In trying to limit China's access to Western know-how, the Trump administration has made it clear that the battle is over which of the two superpowers will be at the forefront of technology in the coming decades, The Guardian reported.
Analyst Hu Xijin, editor of the Chinese newspaper Global Times, said Huawei had been preparing for years to be subject to such restrictions , so it must survive the measures imposed by the US giants.
Xijin believes the shooting could backfire as Huawei is more motivated to develop its own microchip industry to compete with the US.
This is the first step taken by Beijing that imposes specific targets on restricting the use of foreign technology. The government's proposed schedule provides for compliance with the directive within three years.
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