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Effects of China's Software Policy on World Economy?

guptaparesh asks: "The Chinese government is currently engaged in a comprehensive overhaul of its procurement policies and regulations. These regulations would ban non-Chinese firms from selling software to the Chinese government. Given that how much trade all the countries in the world are engaged in with China, isn't this a unfair trade move by the Chinese government?" A better question would be how this might affect the worldwide economy, particularly that of the U.S. and China. What benefits and drawbacks may China see as a result of this new policy? What steps might the U.S. take to attempt to counter it?

18 of 588 comments (clear)

  1. How the U.S. can counter it? by 3770 · · Score: 5, Funny

    How the U.S. can counter it?

    Simple, the U.S. government should refuse to buy software from Chinese companies.

    (I pity anyone that mods this insightful)

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    1. Re:How the U.S. can counter it? by bugnuts · · Score: 4, Insightful

      This is exactly what the US does do.

      Many US government agencies do not use Checkpoint firewalls, solely because it's made by a company in Isreal.

      China has a much more paranoid outlook. Good for them.

  2. For starters by xerxesVII · · Score: 5, Funny

    We could... force 'em to um... only buy Microsoft stuff. That would teach 'em!

    --
    "We shall grapple with the ineffable, and see if we may not eff it after all." - Douglas Adams
    1. Re:For starters by Spodlink05 · · Score: 5, Funny

      We could... force 'em to um... only buy Microsoft stuff. That would teach 'em!

      As if they didn't have enough human rights issues...

  3. How is that determined? by PopeAlien · · Score: 4, Insightful

    These regulations would ban non-Chinese firms from selling software to the Chinese government.

    So whats to stop US companies from opening 'chinese' companies?

  4. China by crudeawakening · · Score: 4, Funny

    Last time I was in China, I visited one of their top universities (SJTU) and they were selling versions of Windows that did not appear to be legal in stores on campus. So this probably won't affect them very much since they don't buy software anyway.

    1. Re:China by composer777 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Good point. What's important to notice is who the US government is helping and why. Our government is interested in serving the rich inside our country because we are a plutocracy. The Chinese government IS the plutocracy, so naturally, they want to do things to benefit the industry inside their own country, the exclusion of all other industries.

      What's funny is that from a class perspective, China's policy is more likely to help the little guy than the US's policy, so if anything, we should encourage China to foster their own industry. The greater the pool of software companies, the more of a demand there will be for labor, which should drive salaries up. This is why workers should encourage governments to help foster new players in industry.

      If you make less than $500,000 a year, the last thing you should want is for governments to completely open their markets. The complete opening of markets will result in the eventual consolidation of worldwide industry, with predictable consequence of low wages, no benefits, and poor quality products. Keeping some barriers between large markets can be a good thing.

  5. Depends on the details by rewt66 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    In principle, this is bad. This is protectionism, and protectionism is a Bad Thing.

    In practice, how bad this is depends on the details. Specifically, can a business get away with just having a Chinese subsidiary? And if that subsidiary can be in Hong Kong, many companies are already positioned to meet this requirement.

    1. Re:Depends on the details by ShieldW0lf · · Score: 4, Insightful

      This isn't protectionism. If they were preventing other companies from doing business in China, or applying a tarrif that wasn't also applied to local companies, that would be protectionism.

      This is just a government spending policy. Is there really anything wrong with a government electing to support its own economy and keep the tax money it collects and spends within its borders? No. As a matter of fact, most would consider it the responsible way for a government to behave.

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      -1 Uncomfortable Truth
  6. A suggestion by gtrubetskoy · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...ban non-Chinese firms from selling software to the Chinese government. Given that how much trade all the countries in the w\orld ...

    How about a ban by the Chinese government on Chinese firms selling non-Chinese software to all the countries in the world?

  7. Re:I would guess... by DigiShaman · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It's a Chinese national security issue. The CCP does not trust software outside of it's own country for fear of hidden backdoors. They think Microsoft may have had the Pentagon place backdoors into Windows to be used in times of war.

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  8. Well... by cnelzie · · Score: 4, Informative

    ...a great deal of people in the US seem to be under the assumption that China is an underdeveloped nation, for some bizarre reason.

    A friend of mine regularly chimes in that we have nothing to worry about from China because "...there is no way a nation that still has cases of Bubonic Plague and can't put electricity or roads across its entire landmass could possibly challenge US Superiority in what we do best..." ...or something to that effect. I think he is to busy drinking the "Republican Pundit Cool-Aid" to seriously take a look at what is going on in China. There are far to many people who share those beliefs for it to be an isolated incident.

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  9. China by Turn-X+Alphonse · · Score: 4, Interesting

    China keeps giving themselvs huge rubs on the back and anyone who tries to move in on it gets a kick in the groin.

    This is exactly the same as every other country (look who gets all the contracts in Iraq for example), the only "real" difference is we all know "china is evil" and America/Europe/Whatever you like near the Atlantic is "good" and "helping the industry".

    So China's doing nothing different from anyone else. If anything being "shut in" may even help Linux if Microsoft piss off the wrong government member.

    --
    I like muppets.
  10. Re:One effect by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Imagine respecting international trade laws! Kind of a stretch, given a mafia government that respects nothing but power, and the money that flows from it.

    Are you talking about the US or Chinese?

  11. The US goverment already does this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    I work for a U.S. government contractor. One of the rules that we have to comply with is that all of our software must be produced in the united states. We can't use open source code because some of it could be written outside of the US. We can't buy licenses for software libraries that could be produced overseas. It's to protect us from potentially malicious code.

    This articles prevents the Chinese Government from buying software from outside of the country. There's still another 1.3 billion consumers there that don't directly work for the government. I don't see this to be a very big problem for US companies trying to sell products there.

  12. Re:how does it feel? by Zak3056 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    when China's economy lights up the real power will start to change hands. Thank god.

    Thank god, indeed.

    The US has quite a few flaws, but think long and hard on the above before you break out the champagne to celebrate Chinese dominance.

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  13. Re:how does it feel? by jmorris42 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    > The US has quite a few flaws, but think long and hard on the above
    > before you break out the champagne to celebrate Chinese dominance.

    Yea, but at the rate we are going down the ol shitter the fall of US world dominance is a forgone conclusion in another generation. So all we can hope is that we manage to export Western Civilization to places like China & India before we collapse. Because we certainly haven't had a use for it here the last 50 years and Europe no longer even remembers having had it. :(

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    Democrat delenda est
  14. Re:China's control of US-China trade issues by _am99_ · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I take it you've never heard the expression, "If you owe the bank a grand, its your problem, if you owe the bank ten million, its the bank's problem"?

    Are you suggesting that the US can just not pay it back and not have it affect the US economy?

    The amount of money the US owes China is less an expression of need for a loan as it is a display of contempt for their ability to ever claim it back.


    1) The US does need the loan at its current spending and trade deficit. Maybe they can get it from other usual places like Saudi Arabia and Japan, but we all know that they can't just print more money? (right?)

    2) The US is not immune to the kind credit problems that causes mass economic and currency flux to bounce around between Asia, Russia, Mexico, etc.

    The Chinese that I know, and there are many, I even speak a good deal of Cantonese, are so completely and utterly brainwashed by their upbringing that they will accept no criticism of their country, nor any discussion.

    This could be said about a lot of countries, US included.