China has ordered all foreign computer equipment and software to be removed from government departments and public institutions within three years, the Financial Times reported.

The government directive will deal a blow to American technology companies companies such as HP, Dell and Microsoft and will try to mirror Washington's attempts to restrict the use of Chinese technology as the war between the nations turns into a technological cold war.

The Trump administration banned US companies from doing business with Chinese telecommunications company Huawei earlier this year, and in May Google, Intel and Qualcomm announced that they would freeze cooperation with Huawei, the Guardian recalls.

By excluding China from Western know-how, the Trump administration has made it clear that the real battle is about which of the two economic superpowers has a technological advantage for the next two decades.

It is Beijing's first known public directive setting specific targets for restricting the use of foreign technology in China, although it may be seen as part of China's broader move to increase its dependence on national technology.

FT announced that the directive would lead to the replacement of approximately 20 to 30 million pieces of hardware, and that the replacement would begin in 2020. Analysts tell FT that 30% of the replacement will take place in 2020, 50% in 2021 and 20% in 2022.

The order came from the headquarters of the Chinese Communist Party earlier this year, analysts said. 

Replacing all devices and software during this period will be challenging given that many products have been developed for US operating systems such as Microsoft's Windows. Chinese government agencies tend to use computers from Chinese company Lenovo, but their components, including their processor chips and hard drives, are made by US companies.

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