Lenovo's chairman Yang Yuanqing speaks during a news conference. REUTERS/Bobby Yip
Posted on 03/24/2006 5:39:18 PM PST by buglemanster
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China's Lenovo Group said on Friday it would welcome a U.S. investigation, if necessary, to quell concerns about a State Department order of more than 15,000 of its computers.
"We have nothing to hide," said Jeff Carlisle, vice president of government relations for Lenovo, which bought IBM's personal computer division last May. But he said no investigation was warranted and voiced qualms about being put at an unfair competitive advantage.
The computers in question -- 15,000 Lenovo ThinkCentre 51 desktop units and nearly 1,000 Lenovo ThinkCentre M51 minitower units, valued at more than $13 million -- were bought under standard U.S. government rules through a government contractor, the State Department said Wednesday.
The computers are assembled at factories in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Monterrey, Mexico, with "chip sets" made in Taiwan, not in China, Carlisle said.
They were identical to ones that International Business Machines Corp. would have sold a year ago and would undergo no modification, he added.
At issue is the latest flap over U.S. national-security fears sparked by acquisitions or other business inroads in the United States by companies based in China and elsewhere overseas.
Earlier in the day, Larry Wortzel, head of a congressionally created commission on the U.S.-China economic relationship, said he expected U.S. lawmakers to start asking questions about the State Department purchase from Lenovo.
"If you're a foreign intelligence service and you know that a (U.S.) federal agency is buying 15,000 computers from your company, wouldn't you look into the possibility that you could do something about that?" he said.
He admits that the Chinese government is the primary share holder. Congress approved a communist buyout of an American firm. The miniaturization alone wrapped up in IBM's PC division should be an advance for Chinese technology. America is up for sale, and our government is playing a lute.
The "selling out" of America continues. How long before there's nothing worth having left? Full disclosure: I bought an "IBM" ThinkPad last fall from Lenovo. Because I felt it was the best notebook for the money.
ping
You don't understand how it works- we sell everything worth owning, and then something magic happens to save our butts.
Amazing.
"and then something magic happens to save our butts"
it's called "strategery"....learn it, live it, love it.
LOL
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