Therisingeconomicpowerhousehasn'tproducedconsumer-electronicsoutfitsthatcantrulycompetewithmultinationalgiants

　　EverybodyknowsthatChinaistheworld'snexteconomicsuperpower.Eachyear,itgetsbillionsandbillionsofdollarsinforeigninvestment,poweringitsboomingeconomy.TheMiddleKingdomhasmorecell-phoneusersthananywhereelseontheplanet,andsoonitwillbetopsamongNetsurfers,too.Americanconsumerscan'tgetenoughofthelow-costTVs,DVDplayers,mobilephones,computers,andothergizmosthatcomeoutofChina'sfactories.

　　ForbelieversintheChina-risingstory,thelatestsignofascendancewastheDecemberannouncementthatIBM（IBM）,oneofthemostvenerablenamesinU.S.industry,wassellingitsPCdivisiontoLenovo（LNVGY）,theNo.1PCmakerinChina.LenovoisownedinpartbytheChinesegovernment.

　　AHAS-BEEN?AllthehypeabouttheLenovo-IBMdealandChina'smightobscuresoneproblem:Foracountrythat'sabouttobecomesuchapowerfulthreattotheU.S.,Chinahasatoughtimeproducingworld-classcompaniesthatcancompetewiththelikesofAmerica'sDell（DELL）andHewlett-Packard（HPQ）,orJapan'sSony（SNE）orAsia'sSamsung.Sure,ChinahasHuaweiTechnologiesandZTE,bothofthemgrowingprovidersoflow-cost,high-qualitynetworkingequipment.Butwhenitcomestoconsumerelectronics,Chineseoutfitsjustaren'tinthesameballpark.

　　OnemightthinkthattheprospectofLenovo,thetopcomputermakerintheworld'sfastest-growingeconomy,vaultingtotheNo.3spotintermsofworldwideproduction-behindonlyDellandHP-wouldgetinvestorsexcited.Buttheirreactionhasbeenunderwhelming.Lenovo'sshares,tradedontheHongKongstockexchange,areoffsome13sincetheoutfitunveileditsIBMplans.Forallof2004,Lenovostockplunged34,comparedtoan11riseforthebenchmarkHangSengindex.

　　Whytheskepticism?ManyinvestorsseemtothinkLenovo'sgreatestsuccessmaybebehindit.Yes,it'sstronginChina,theargumentgoes,butthat'spartlyduetoitsgovernmentbacking.FactorinLenovo'shome-teamadvantage,andyouhaveaprettygoodexplanationforitsleadingroleintheChinesemarket.

　　HITTINGTHEEXITS.Sofar,LenovohasbeenunabletomakemuchheadwaysellingitscomputersoutsideChina,thustheappealofIBM'sPCbusiness-whichoflatehasbeenamoneyloserforBigBlue.IBMrevealedinrecentfilingstotheU.S.SecuritiesExchangeCommissioninlateDecemberthatthePCdivisionlostjustshyof