Open Software, Closed Strategy: China and the Open Source Paradox

The open-source software ecosystem, built on sharing and collaboration, has long been a cornerstone of the global digital economy. For years, China remained on the periphery of this community, but recently it has made giant strides, emerging as a central and proactive player. This shift isn't merely about technological adoption; it reflects deep geopolitical dynamics, strategic ambitions, and a complex relationship between the inherent openness of open source and the nature of an authoritarian state. China is not only consuming but also actively shaping the future of open-source technologies, particularly in artificial intelligence, while simultaneously facing internal and external challenges that define its unique trajectory in this field.

China's Ascent in Global Open Source

China has established itself as a driving force in the open-source arena. It currently boasts the second-largest number of developers on GitHub, the world's leading platform for open-source collaboration, surpassed only by the United States and India. Chinese tech giants like Alibaba, Baidu, and Huawei have become prolific funders and contributors to countless open-source projects, actively shaping the future of these technologies rather than just consuming them.

One sector where China has shown extraordinary proactivity is artificial intelligence (AI). Many of the most advanced and discussed open-source AI models globally originate from Chinese companies. A notable example is DeepSeek, a startup that captured global attention in January by releasing cutting-edge models developed on a shoestring budget. According to the portal Artificial Analysis, a remarkable 12 out of the 15 leading open-source AI models on the market today are of Chinese origin, highlighting a clear leadership in this emerging field.

Reasons for Growing Interest: Autonomy and Resilience

China's renewed and intense interest in open source has been largely fueled by restrictions imposed by the United States in an attempt to curb its technological rise. Blocking access to freely available online code has proven to be a difficult task for foreign governments. As Ren Zhengfei, Huawei's founder, stated in an interview with People's Daily, American sanctions don't represent an insurmountable threat, as "there will be thousands of open-source software [programs] to meet the needs of the entire society." Open source has become a strategic path for China to pursue technological self-sufficiency and reduce dependence on Western solutions.

The real momentum for the open-source movement in China emerged in the mid-2010s. Initially, as Richard Lin, co-founder of the advocacy group Kaiyuanshe, recalls, early adopters were simply developers seeking free software. This mindset shifted when they realized that contributing to open-source projects could significantly improve their career prospects. Soon after, large companies followed suit, with giants like Huawei investing in open-source work to attract talent and cut costs through technology sharing.

A decisive turning point occurred in 2019 when Huawei was effectively barred from using Android due to American restrictions. This event accelerated efforts to reduce reliance on Western technology. Open source offered a faster path for Chinese tech firms to reuse existing code and build their own programs, with the invaluable support of the country's vast developer community. In 2020, Huawei launched OpenHarmony, a family of open-source operating systems for various devices. It also collaborated with other major companies, including Alibaba, Baidu, and Tencent, to establish the OpenAtom Foundation, an organization dedicated to open-source development. China thus became not only a major contributor but also a pioneer in adopting new technologies: JD.com, for example, was among the first to deploy Kubernetes.

AI has further amplified China's enthusiasm for open source. Chinese companies and the government see open models as the quickest way to close the gap with the United States. DeepSeek's models have generated significant interest, but Alibaba's Qwen is also highly regarded, and Baidu has announced the imminent opening of the model behind its Ernie chatbot.

China's commitment to open technology also extends to hardware. Unitree, a Hangzhou-based robotics startup, has made its training data, algorithms, and hardware designs freely available, with the potential goal of influencing global standards. In the semiconductor sector, too, where China relies on Western chip firms for designs, the government is pushing for the adoption of RISC-V, an open chip architecture developed at the University of California, Berkeley, as part of its drive for self-sufficiency.

Between Hopes and Suspicions: Challenges to Global Acceptance

Many Chinese companies hope that greater technological transparency can foster the acceptance of their products abroad. However, this hope doesn't always materialize. Huawei's operating system, for instance, has found few users outside China. While some Western companies are experimenting with DeepSeek's models, an executive at a large enterprise-software firm revealed that many clients outside China are reluctant to adopt Chinese AI tools. Concerns range from the risk of future American restrictions to the fear of "backdoors" hidden in the code, which could enable espionage.

China's open-source ambitions could also be hampered by other dynamics. Qi Ning, a Chinese software engineer, observes that at international open-source conferences, attendees are increasingly avoiding naming Chinese collaborators, fearing reputational risk or political blowback.

The American government could also make life difficult for Chinese open-source developers. Fearing nefarious meddling in the world's code, Washington might seek to isolate China from GitHub, which is owned by Microsoft. Qi Ning reports that many Chinese developers worry about "future access issues." The Chinese government has promoted Gitee, a domestic alternative, but few local coders use it. Last year, some American lawmakers even proposed limiting China's access to RISC-V, though Andrea Gallo, head of the Swiss body overseeing the technology, argues that this is impractical, as it is a public standard, much like USB.

The Internal Threat: The Precarious Balance with State Control

Paradoxically, the biggest threat to China's open-source experiment might stem from its own government, despite its principled support. In 2021, the government restricted access to GitHub, concerned that the platform could host politically sensitive content. Developers quickly circumvented the block using VPNs, but the episode rattled many. In 2022, the government announced that all projects on Gitee would be subject to official review and that coders would need to certify compliance with Chinese law.

A similar pattern is unfolding in AI. Chinese law prohibits models from generating content that "damages the unity of the country and social harmony." In 2023, Hugging Face, a Franco-American platform for sharing open-source AI models, became inaccessible from within China.

The Chinese open-source movement is intrinsically organic, driven by developers and tech firms. The government has so far encouraged it because it serves its objectives of accelerating domestic innovation and reducing reliance on Western technology. However, if Chinese leaders decide to constrain the culture of freedom and experimentation on which open technology relies, they risk compromising its potential and hindering both domestic innovation and the ability to export Chinese technology abroad. The future of open source in China will depend on the delicate balance between the drive for innovation and the desire for state control.