国内英语新闻：Dell to boost parts purchases from China in 2008

BEIJING, March 21 (Xinhua)-- Personal computer giant Dell Inc. said Thursday that it will raise parts purchases from China by 27.8 percent this year, increasing its presence in the booming market.

    Dell is to buy 23 billion U.S. dollars worth of computer components and other equipment from Chinese suppliers this year, compared with 18 billion U.S. dollars in 2007, said Michael Dell, chief executive officer of the PC giant, at a press conference.

    However, Dell's Beijing representative office denied reports that the company was planning to buy 29 billion U.S. dollars of computer parts from China in 2009.

    To secure a bigger share of the Chinese market, Dell broke with its Internet sales model and sealed a deal in September to sell PCs through the country's top electronics retailer, GOME Electrical Appliances.

    Dell saw its PC shipments in China up 54 percent year-on-year in 2007.

    The company plans to expand its retail outlets from 45 cities in 2007 to 1,200 by the end of the year.

    China, where Dell ranks third in terms of market share, is one of the company's fastest growing markets, said Michael Dell.

    Dell has two factories in Xiamen, a coastal city in southeastern Fujian Province, a design center in Shanghai and a customer contact center in Dalian, a northeast coastal city, with more than 6,000 employees in China.

    Meanwhile, Dell estimates it will contribute more than 50 billion U.S. dollars to China's gross domestic product (GDP) this year, and provide about 2 million jobs.

    Dell also said it would donate 1.7 million yuan (239,436 U.S. dollars) to build six education centers in China to teach computer skills to migrant workers' children.