China has developed its own mobile operating system in an effort to combat the hold that foreign-developed operating systems have on the market. The China Operating System (COS) is a strategic product for national security, the Global Times reports citing the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The system can be used on touchscreen phones and provides support for various apps. COS already supports up to 100,000 apps, CAS and its partner, Shanghai-based Liantong Network Communication Technology, said. The system, which is also compatible with tablets and TV set-top boxes, only allows one app store to ensure it offers safe and legal apps. Responding to rumours that it is a modified Android version, Wu Yanjun, a research fellow from the institute, said that COS uses the Linux kernel but that all other code was written by the COS developers.