Insights from the 18th China Linux Kernel Developers Conference (CLK 2023) on Enhancing China’s Open‑Source Influence

Recently, the 18th China Linux Kernel Developers Conference (CLK 2023) was successfully held in Shenzhen, gathering nearly 500 developers from across the country to discuss the latest trends and technical depth of the Linux kernel.

The conference highlighted the rapid rise of China’s open‑source community and featured a round‑table discussion titled “How to Enhance the Global Influence of China’s Open‑Source Community” . The session was chaired by Guo Jian, co‑founder of the Wormhole Technology Community and editor‑in‑chief of the OPPO Kernel Artisan Community, and included senior experts such as Peng Zhiguang (Tencent), Guo Hanjun (Huawei OS Kernel Lab / openEuler), Si Yanteng (Loongson), Yin Fengwei (Intel), and Tang Jianfeng (Ant Group).

The discussion emphasized that open‑source communities have become a key engine for technological innovation. Companies such as Tencent, Huawei, Loongson, Intel, and Ant Group are actively contributing code, documentation, and ecosystem support.

Tencent introduced the OpenCloud OS community and its latest stable release OpenCloudOS 9 (OC9), which offers a fully upstream‑based kernel and user‑space stack, improving performance, security, and stability.

Huawei’s Guo Hanjun described the company’s long‑term Linux kernel contributions, including being a top‑contributor of patches for the 5.10 kernel and a founding member of openEuler and OpenHarmony. Huawei has transitioned from a pure consumer of open‑source to a major contributor, establishing dedicated open‑source R&D zones.

Loongson’s Si Yanteng highlighted the company’s work on the LoongArch architecture, contributing over 800 patches and more than 50 000 lines of code to the Linux kernel, as well as localizing kernel documentation.

Intel’s Yin Fengwei explained that Intel consistently ranks among the top contributors to the Linux kernel, encouraging employee participation in upstream work and supporting cloud‑related open‑source projects.

Ant Group’s Tang Jianfeng noted the company’s contributions in virtualization, RCU, networking, and I/O, and described a “system‑approach” that builds on technologies such as KATA, gVisor, and the Occlum unikernel.

The conference also addressed how Chinese developers can increase their participation in global open‑source projects. Peng Zhiguang proposed lowering entry barriers through a kernel development alliance with educational institutions, while Guo Hanjun emphasized the need for sustained corporate‑academic collaboration.

Si Yanteng suggested that newcomers first contribute to documentation translation to build reputation, noting that only about 20 % of Chinese documentation is translated, leaving ample opportunities.

Tang Jianfeng added that mentorship, community immersion, and contributing finished solutions back to the community are essential for personal growth and for strengthening China’s open‑source influence.

Overall, the speakers agreed that enhancing China’s impact on the global open‑source stage requires high‑quality code contributions, trust building, long‑term corporate support, and active community engagement.