Microsoft has announced that it will join forces with China’s leading Linux operating system provider to develop cloud computing solutions for the Chinese market.

The software giant will work with China Standard Software Co. (CS2C) to support the company’s NeoKylin Linux Server product on Microsoft’s Hyper-V Open Cloud architecture.

"Through this collaboration, we seek to support our joint customers in China with solutions for the cloud, which will help them build upon their existing operational investments, yet also allow them the flexibility to capitalize on strategic opportunities that may arise during this period of expansive change and growth," said Simon Leung, CEO for Microsoft’s Greater China region.

As part of the deal, Microsoft and CS2C will co-sponsor a technology lab in Beijing, focusing on developing and testing cloud products. According to a statement from Microsoft, the lab will focus on the certification of CS2C’s Linux operating system for Microsoft systems, as well as ensuring that CS2C’s software is fully supported by the Hyper-V architecture.

Fu Boning, the deputy director of the information centre for the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture, said that cross-platform collaboration is becoming a trend in cloud computing. "From the perspective of users, we are glad to see cooperation between different operating system providers," said Boning.

A recent Gartner survey found that Chinese CIOs are more likely to spend their IT budgets on cloud computing than their European and North American counterparts. The survey found that 55 percent of respondents in China plan to spend more than 10 percent of their IT budgets on cloud computing by 2013. The same report also found more than half of Asian CIOs expected their budgets to increase in 2011, compared to 39% of CIOs worldwide.