SHANGHAI — China could have a new homegrown operating system by October to take on imported rivals such as Microsoft, Google and Apple, Xinhua, the government news agency, reported.

Computer technology became an area of tension between China and the United States after a number of run-ins over cybersecurity. China is now looking to help its domestic industry catch up with imported systems such as Windows from Microsoft and the mobile operating system Android from Google.

The operating system would first appear on desktop devices and later extend to smartphone and other mobile devices, Xinhua reported on Sunday, citing Ni Guangnan who heads an official operating system development alliance established in March.

Mr. Ni’s comments were originally reported by the People’s Post and Telecommunications News, an official trade paper run by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.