Beijing sent a small tremor of alarm among foreign companies with an anouncment late last year that it would favor technology developed in China when buying computers and other goods on which the government spends billions of dollars each year.
The government is the biggest customer for many types of computer and other technology.
The Chinese government says the "indigenous innovation" policy is meant to spur domestic innovation but foreign companies have expressed alarm they will be shut out of the government purchases. It now seems the government is backing down somewhat from its original fairly intractable position.
The US Chamber of Commerce said 28% of companies surveyed said they already are losing business due to "indigenous innovation" and 40% expected to be hurt once the policies were fully implemented.
AP reported that the Chamber, which represents 1,200 companies, said American companies were "troubled by a mounting number of policy challenges ranging from the inconsistent enforcement of laws, to China’s discriminatory domestic innovation policies and regulations that limit market access into sectors that had been increasingly open to foreign investment for the past 30 years." Now it seems the pressure is easing somewhat.