People visit the 26th China Beijing International High-Tech Exhibition at the National Convention Center in Beijing on July 16, 2024. ADEK BERRY/AFP via Getty Images
On Friday, July 19, VCPost reported that Microsoft Windows experience a widespread outage, which caused major disruptions for foreign businesses and luxury hotels globally.
Unlike most countries, the tech glitch had a minimal impact on China's key infrastructure.
According to industry sources and social media posts shared by SCMP, critical sectors such as airlines and banks in China remained largely unaffected by the technical issues.
As of the evening local time, airports in Beijing and Shanghai were operating normally, contrasting with disruptions reported at international airports in the Asia-Pacific region, from Hong Kong to Australia.
Now, foreign business offices in China were affected, reporting computer crashes and operational delays, with some staff struggling to access company websites and financial reports.
Despite the disruptions experienced by foreign businesses, Microsoft's China website and social media channels did not issue emergency notices.
The minimal impact of the outage highlights China's progress in its campaign for greater tech self-sufficiency. The country has been working to replace foreign technology with domestic alternatives across government departments and critical infrastructure.
The global outage, attributed to a software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, better saw the benefits of China's push towards "safe and controllable" computing systems. On Weibo, Chinese netizens humorously noted the situation, with comments about the outage providing a "half-day off" and jokes about switching to new computers with HarmonyOS, China's domestic operating system.
A recent development, shared by VCPost, for China's independent tech infrastructure showed that it's about to surpass USA for AI development despite OpenAI's edge.
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