diff --git a/src/runtime/arch/s390x-options.mk b/src/runtime/arch/s390x-options.mk
index f54c064572..9a1b377415 100644
--- a/src/runtime/arch/s390x-options.mk
+++ b/src/runtime/arch/s390x-options.mk
@@ -11,3 +11,10 @@ MACHINEACCELERATORS :=
 CPUFEATURES :=
 
 QEMUCMD := qemu-system-s390x
+
+# See https://github.com/kata-containers/osbuilder/issues/217
+FEDORA_LIKE = $(shell grep -E "\<fedora\>" /etc/os-release 2> /dev/null)
+ifneq (,$(FEDORA_LIKE))
+	CC := gcc
+	export CC
+endif