Steady Progress Amid Tariff Fluctuations: China's Database Industry Focuses on Core Technology Breakthroughs

"On April 2, the U.S. imposed a 34% reciprocal tariff on China; on April 8, after China retaliated, the U.S. hiked tariffs further, with rates on some goods soaring to 104%; on April 9, the U.S. raised tariffs on Chinese products to 125%; by April 15, Chinese exports to the U.S. faced tariffs as high as 245%."

In just over ten days, the U.S. has imposed tariffs, granted exemptions, imposed more, and reversed course again... Amid these erratic tariff maneuvers, it has become a growing consensus that a country must seize control of its economic lifelines and achieve self-reliance in critical and core technologies.

Thanks to China's early deployment of information technology application innovation (Xinchuang), domestic companies are making the leap from 'usable' to 'excellent' in key areas such as core hardware, foundational software, and upper-layer applications, gradually building a self-reliant, secure, reliable, and globally competitive industrial ecosystem.

In the database industry, core markets such as finance and telecommunications were long monopolized by foreign vendors like Oracle and IBM, who reaped massive profits while creating significant data security risks.

As one of China's first domestic database companies, GBasehas been competing head-to-head with foreign vendors in high-standard sectors like finance and telecom for over a decade, has alwaysadhered to independent R&D of core database technologies, and hasactively promoted the development of the Xinchuang industry. The GBase database series was among the first to pass the security and reliability evaluation for both centralized and distributed databases. Its technical indicators, including transaction processing performance, high availability, and scalability, have reached industry-leading levels. GBase databases have been deployed at scale in finance, telecom, energy, transportation, and other sectors, helping customers achieve the integrated development of digital-intelligent transformation and Xinchuang modernization.

In the financial sector, GBase databases have been supporting financial informatization projects since 2013, taking the lead in breaking the monopoly of foreign vendors in the financial industry. After over a decade of deep cultivation, the independently developed GBase databases are widely used in banking, insurance, securities, and other sub-sectors, serving more than 200 financial institutions with over 20,000 deployments. GBase has helped financial users replace foreign databases like Oracle, DB2, and Teradata, accumulating rich project implementation and technical service experience. According to CCID Consulting’s 2024 "China Financial Industry Database Market Research Report", GBase ranks first in user penetration in the financial industry(Click for details).

In the telecom sector, during a database selection process organized by a top-tier operator in 2014, GBase was the only domestic database vendor to fully pass all tests and meet project requirements, defeating international giants such as Oracle (Exadata), Microsoft (SQL Server PDW), IBM (DB2, Netezza), Sybase (Sybase IQ), EMC (Greenplum), HP (Vertica), and Teradata (Warehouse Appliance Turbo) to win the contract. Today, GBase databases are deployed across more than 60 headquarters and provincial branches of China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom, and others, deeply integrated into their BSS (business support systems), OSS (operations support systems), and MSS (management support systems). This provides robust support for the informatization of China's mobile communications infrastructure.

In the energy sector, GBase databases support the domestically developed SCADA system for the oil and gas pipeline network independently built by China Oil & Gas Pipeline Network Corporation (PipeChina), delivering highly reliable, stable, and concurrent data services for large-scale control centers. They have been rolled out across 15 business information systems including production and management, with over 1,000 GBase database deployments, ensuring energy supply chain security.

In the transportation sector, GBase databases entered the core of railway systems as early as 2017, supporting the informatization of new-generation ticketing and electronic payment platforms. They have been deployed on AFC (automatic fare collection) systems, clearing centers, multi-line centers, online ticketing systems, integrated monitoring systems, and operations command centers for over 70 urban rail transit lines in 27 cities across China. GBase also supports the domestic upgrade of toll systems and operational monitoring for highways in more than ten provinces, making travel safer, more convenient, and smarter.

Moreover, GBase databases are widely adopted in key sectors vital to the national economy and people's livelihood, including government, public security, education, and healthcare. By redefining data management through technological innovation, they reduce costs, empower business operations, and provide solid support for digital transformation.

From tariff skirmishes to technological rivalry, China is fully advancing the Xinchuang (IT Application Innovation) industry and promoting the adoption of domestic alternatives. This is an inevitable choice to ensure the security and controllability of the nation’s information supply chain, and a necessary path for China’s transformation from a manufacturing powerhouse to a science and technology leader. As more domestic enterprises fortify the industrial foundation with independently developed core technologies and break through bottlenecks in critical fields through innovation, China’s position in the global value chain will no longer be constrained by others. This high-stakes contest will ultimately culminate in a historic victory secured by a self-reliant and controllable industrial ecosystem.