In a move that sent quiet shockwaves from Beijing to Redmond, China’s Ministry of Commerce recently issued a series of policy announcements with a seemingly minor but deeply significant change: the documents were unreadable using Microsoft Word. For the first time, official government communiques were released exclusively in the format of WPS Office, a homegrown Chinese alternative to the ubiquitous American software suite [1]. This wasn’t a glitch; it was a declaration. China is accelerating its campaign for digital sovereignty, and it’s taking direct aim at the heart of America’s technological dominance.
As journalist Ben Norton has argued, this is a much bigger deal than it appears. The United States, in its “arrogance” during the trade war, has consistently underestimated China’s leverage. This move is a stark reminder that the tech cold war is not a one-way street. While Washington has been busy banning iPhones for government workers and attempting to cripple Chinese tech giants like Huawei, Beijing has been methodically building a parallel digital ecosystem, piece by piece [2].
The Great Digital Decoupling
The switch to WPS Office, developed by the Beijing-based company Kingsoft, is the latest and perhaps most symbolic step in a long-term strategy. For years, China has been pushing for “technological self-reliance,” a policy that has now reached a critical inflection point. In 2022, a directive was issued ordering all state-owned enterprises to completely transition to domestic software for all operational and office work by 2027 [3].
The wisdom of this strategy was vividly illustrated in July 2024, when a faulty update from a Texas-based cybersecurity firm, CrowdStrike, caused a global meltdown of Microsoft Windows systems. Airlines were grounded, banks were disrupted, and businesses were paralyzed. China, however, remained largely unscathed. Its key service providers had already begun migrating away from foreign systems, insulating them from the chaos [3].
This isn’t just about word processors. It’s about challenging the very foundation of America’s global power. As Norton points out, a primary goal of the “US empire” is to maintain a global monopoly for its Big Tech companies. This dependence allows American corporations to extract enormous “monopoly rents,” enriching shareholders and reinforcing US geopolitical dominance. China is the only nation with the capacity and the will to challenge this status quo.
Domestic Alternative | US Counterpart | Market Status |
WPS Office (Kingsoft) | Microsoft Office | Becoming the designated format for Chinese government communications. |
HarmonyOS (Huawei) | Android / iOS | Surpassed iOS market share in China for the 6th consecutive quarter in Q2 2025. |
Tencent, Alibaba, NetEase | Google, AWS, etc. | Building homegrown alternatives for cloud, email, and other digital services. |
HarmonyOS: The Ghost in the Machine
Nowhere is this challenge more apparent than in the mobile operating system space. While the world runs on a duopoly of Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS, Huawei has quietly built a formidable third option: HarmonyOS. Battered but not broken by years of crippling US sanctions, Huawei has not only survived but thrived in its home market.
As of the second quarter of 2025, HarmonyOS has surpassed Apple’s iOS in market share in China for the sixth consecutive quarter, capturing 17% of the market compared to iOS’s 16% [4]. This is a monumental achievement, driven by strong sales of devices like the Mate 70 series, which features a domestically produced 5G chip—a feat many Western analysts thought impossible.
The latest version, HarmonyOS NEXT, is a “pure blood” operating system, completely independent of the Android kernel. It now powers over 17 million devices and is supported by a rapidly growing ecosystem of over 7 million developers [4]. This is the digital sovereignty that Washington, Silicon Valley, and Wall Street feared, and it is now a reality.
The Empire Strikes Back... With Fear
The shift away from Microsoft and the rise of HarmonyOS are not isolated incidents. They are part of a broader, calculated strategy that includes:
•Banning iPhones: Chinese government officials have been barred from using iPhones for work since September 2023 [5].
•Restricting US Chips: Regulators have ordered major Chinese tech companies to halt the purchase and use of advanced chips from US firms like Nvidia, citing national security risks [3].
•Forcing a Retreat: American software giants like Adobe and Citrix have scaled back their Chinese operations, while Microsoft has closed its AI research lab in Shanghai and all its physical stores on the mainland [1, 3].
The reaction from the US has been a mixture of anger and panic. The stock market reflects this anxiety. Following the news of the WPS-only documents, shares in Kingsoft Office Software surged by as much as 18%, even as the broader Chinese market fell on renewed trade tensions [6].
China is demonstrating that it will no longer be a passive consumer of American technology. It is building its own digital infrastructure, on its own terms, and in doing so, it is challenging the very structure of the global tech hierarchy. The era of unquestioned American technological supremacy is over. A new, multipolar tech world is emerging, and this latest move from Beijing is a clear signal that China intends to be a rule-maker, not just a rule-taker.
References
[1] Sending a message: Beijing issues documents without Word format amid US tensions [2] Ben Norton’s commentary as provided by the user. [3] China switches trade files to WPS-only format, shutting out MS Word [4] Huawei’s HarmonyOS Surpasses iOS Market Share in China for Sixth Consecutive Quarter in Q2 2025 [5] China Bans iPhone Use for Government Officials at Work [6] Kingsoft Surges on Bets China Will Use Its Programs Over MS Word
