US computer giant Dell Inc. is currently at the center of a public relations shenanigan that could damage its relations with its competitor, Lenovo, and the Chinese government. Dell had some fire fighting to do yesterday after one of its employees remarked that Lenovo's acquisition of IBM's PC arm was "directly supporting/funding the Chinese government."

In a statement released yesterday, Dell China expressed regret about the employee's remark, and said that it "in no way" represented the position of the company.

Dell added that it would take appropriate action against the employee, and that such matters are taken very seriously.

In an e-mail to a customer on May 27, a Dell account manager - identified only as Chris - said: "From an IBM perspective, please do not think I'm throwing stones."

He went on to say that Lenovo, which IBM's personal computer unit in December, was a Chinese government-owned company and every dollar spent on IBM's computers was "directly supporting/funding the Chinese government."

Late on Monday, Lenovo issued a written statement expressing deep regret over these comments.

The statement said that a leading company like Dell should adhere to business ethics and respect national governments and enterprises.

Dai Linyan, a spokeswoman from Lenovo, said yesterday that her company would be closely watching developments, but did not say if the company would demand a formal apology from Dell or take other action.

Earlier in February, another Lenovo competitor, HP, published an advertisement in a Taiwan newspaper that read: "Don't even mention Lenovo." HP later apologized.

Fang Xingdong, a well-known industry observer in Beijing, said Dell's strategy of mixing competition with politics could potentially bring huge losses to the Chinese firm. He even suggested the government consult with Dell on the situation.

Wang Zhile, a senior multinational corporation development expert with a Ministry of Commerce research institute, said it was important to first ascertain if the comments reflected the views of Dell or were the opinions of a single member of staff. He warned that any nationalism inspired by the controversy could harm the economic cooperation between the two countries.

(China Daily June 1, 2005)