Microsoft is setting up a joint venture with state-owned China Electronics Technology Group Corp (CETC) to promote Windows 10 in China.

The new Beijing-based joint venture, which is provisionally called C&M Information Technologies, will license, deploy, manage and optimise Windows 10 for Chinese government agencies and some state-owned enterprises in areas such as energy, telecoms and transport. The venture will also provide support and services for these customers, according to a blog by Yusuf Mehdi, a corporate vice president in Microsoft’s Window and devices group.

“It’s common for governments to look to specialty technology partner organisations to deploy technology at scale, and this venture signals the possibility for new opportunities for Windows 10 in the many government entities in China,” said Mehdi.

The announcement puts further meat on a partnership first announced in September this year. The deal with CETC was one of a number announced when Chinese premier Xi Jinping visited the US, of which the most high profile was an alliance with search giant Baidu.

That deal is intended to make it easier for Baidu customers to upgrade to Windows 10 while providing local browsing and search experiences, as well as universal apps.

At the time, CETC and Microsoft said they were exploring support for the configuration, deployment and maintenance of Windows 10 for users in Chinese state-own enterprises without offering much detail.

The new joint venture will have exclusive rights to license a government-approved Windows 10 image, or configuration, which includes capabilities such as a government-selected anti-virus software.

The JV will also provide product activation, patch management, deployment services and product support to government customers. And it will collect feedback from the same customers on their requirements for future updates of the government’s Windows 10 image, which may be developed by the joint venture.