# vendor lock‑in

China’s ‘Crayfish’ Craze: Open-source AI Agents Spark Cloud Arms Race, Subsidies and Security Alarms

OpenClaw — an open‑source agent middleware — has ignited mass adoption in China, prompting cloud giants to offer free installations to capture long‑term infrastructure revenue. Municipal subsidies and cheap domestic model pricing have accelerated deployment, even as regulators warn of major security and lock‑in risks. The episode underscores a strategic divergence between China’s rapid commercialisation of agents and more cautious approaches abroad.