China abandons Microsoft file format
The Commerce Ministry’s latest export control documents were released using local WPS software instead of the US-developed Word
China has started replacing the US-developed and widely used Microsoft Word file format with a local alternative in official documents, according to the South China Morning Post. The shift comes as trade and technology tensions between Beijing and Washington continue to grow.
The Commerce Ministry’s announcement last week on rare earth export controls was released only in the local WPS format, a homegrown equivalent to Microsoft Office, the paper wrote on Monday. It was the first time the ministry’s documents could not be opened directly in Word or other US-made software.
China announced new restrictions last Thursday on exports of certain strategic minerals with both civilian and military uses, citing national security. The measures expand licensing requirements and follow similar steps earlier this year to tighten control over high-tech materials.
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US President Donald Trump responded by threatening to impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese imports and said Washington could restrict the export of “any and all critical software.”
In China, foreign software firms have been gradually retreating, like Adobe and Citrix (now Cloud Software). Microsoft has also closed its AI research lab in Shanghai and all its physical stores in mainland China.
In September, regulators reportedly ordered major Chinese companies to cancel testing and purchases of Nvidia’s AI chips. According to Financial Times, China’s chipmakers aim to triple the country’s total output of AI processors.
