Tech giant Microsoft is reportedly planning to work with a Chinese company with the goal of distributing Windows 10 in China.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft plans to create a joint venture with state-owned China Electronics Technology Group Corp. (CETC). CETC is a technology provider for both the Chinese military and civilians.

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Microsoft said that the new venture, named C&M Information Technologies, will give them a license to deploy, manage and optimize a customized version of Windows 10 that will be used in Chinese government agencies, as well as some state-owned enterprises found in key areas such as energy, telecommunications and transportation. It will be based in Beijing, and will be subject to the government's regulatory approval.

This new venture is simply one of the steps that Microsoft is taking to strengthening its foothold in China. The American company has already achieved some progress in the past few years in this regard - thanks to its connections with huge Chinese companies such as internet giants Baidu and Tencent, as well as tech companies Lenovo and Xiaomi.

Despite this, Microsoft is still facing competition in the form of pirated versions of the Windows operating system. More recently, Microsoft faced a government probe that checked how it distributes software, and also suffered from a ban by official agencies.

The company's progress is also affected by Chinese consumers who fear that they might be spied on by using foreign software, in connection with the NSA spy issue.

Should C&M Information Technologies be approved, it will be the exclusive licensor of the localized version of Windows 10 for use in the government, and will be providing various kinds of support that the government earlier requested. It will also be collecting feedback which will be used to develop updates for the localized version of Windows 10.

TagsMicrosoft Windows 10, Microsoft Customized Windows 10 China, Windows 10 China, C&M Information Technologies, China Electronics Technology Group Corp. (CETC), Microsoft China Electronics Technology Group Corp. (CETC)