What China’s Document 79 Means to US Tech

(TotalConservative.com) – A new report from The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) alleges that China is looking to eliminate all US technology from its industries within the next three years by means of a secret directive called “Document 79.”

The Chinese government is allegedly planning to enact a directive that would remove all technology from its tech sector that was made or designed in the US, according to a WSJ report. The directive would mandate that state-owned companies and enterprises phase out all foreign software by the year 2027 in order to promote Chinese self-sufficiency and mitigate national security concerns.

It seems that the Chinese government was also trying to keep the directive under wraps. According to reports, executives and officials were required to memorize Document 79 without printing any physical copies. The directive will be overseen by a state commission that oversees state-owned enterprises (SOE) holding assets totaling $7 billion. After the directive’s existence was leaked, some leading software companies in China have already stepped up to fill in the gaps for the phased-out American technologies.

The mysterious directive was first reported last July by the Japanese news outlet Yomiuri Shimbun, which shared the scarce details about Document 79 and requirements for Chinese SOEs to share updates and reports with the state about their efforts to use more domestic technologies.

Although the directive is meant to strengthen the autonomy of Chinese technology, some executives are not satisfied with the quality of Chinese replacements compared to the US counterparts phased out, and this has also resulted in market share losses.

The move by the Chinese government raises questions and concerns about transparency and international trade. In light of China’s stated interest in becoming a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), restricting the use of US technologies may contradict the CPTPP’s principles of open and free trade. The directive also indicates a heightened level of mistrust between the two nations and a strain on their international relations.