In the midst of simmering tensions between Washington and Beijing, a Chinese software vendor has dismissed speculation that its enterprise product, which uses code from Oracle Corp’s MySQL open source relational database management system, may face sanctions.
According to a WeChat post last Monday by Beijing Wanli Open Source Software Co, the company’s open source database system GreatDB, which is used by major state-owned enterprises such as China Mobile and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, is not threatened by sanctions or suspensions because the core technology was developed independently.
That declaration followed assurances to investors days earlier by Shenzhen-listed Troy Information Technology Co, parent company of Beijing Wanli Open Source, that it controls all relevant codes and technologies. Troy, on the other hand, admitted that GreatDB’s storage node was built on open-source technology from GreatSQL – a division of MySQL whose database software is used by Microsoft’s Azure cloud business and Amazon Web Services.
“The core of GreatSQL is not related to MySQL, and it is an independent technology evolution,” Troy added.
The assertions made by Beijing Wanli Open Source and Troy demonstrated a concerted effort to allay concerns that GreatDB could face sanctions if MySQL stops licencing its code, which was the subject of an article posted on news aggregator platform Jinri Toutiao on May 28 by an account called “Weichuangshe.” The companies’ actions reflect rising geopolitical tensions and new calls for the mainland to accelerate the replacement of foreign technologies with domestic products.
Oracle, for example, halted all operations in Russia in early March, just days after Russia invaded Ukraine. According to a statement on Oracle’s website, this action includes withdrawing all services and support for Russian companies, as well as prohibiting “export, re-export, transfer to, or use [of its technologies] in Russia or Belarus.” Despite the restrictions imposed by the United States, European Union, and their allies on Moscow following the invasion, trade between Russia and its ally China has continued.
