Dell Inc is facing severe criticism in China for allegations that a US-based salesperson sent an email discouraging former IBM clients in America from buying Lenovo products.
"Dell is the bane of China's IT hardware industry," said Fang Dongxing, an information technology analyst with blog.com. "It not only undermines the advantages of Chinese companies in cost and price, but also threatens its Chinese rivals with the strong weapons of global purchasing power," Fang said.
In the email published last week by a Chinese newspaper, a Dell salesperson wrote: "As you know, Lenovo is a Chinese government owned company that recently purchased IBM's desktop business. While the US government has given its stamp of approval to continue to purchase these units, people must understand that every dollar clients spent on these IBM systems is directly supporting/funding the Chinese government."
The email irritated many Chinese. Many netizens expressed their indignation on the Internet.
Analysts predicted that Dell's sales in China might suffer.
"Unfair competition from rivals is not rare for Chinese companies in the international market," said Lu Benfu, another IT analyst, adding that some foreign companies always link their Chinese rivals with politics when they run into heated competition.
In response to the email event, a Lenovo spokesperson said that in the last two months they have frequently experienced discrimination motivated by politics in the United States.
"We are disappointed about what Dell has done," the spokesperson said, stressing that as a well-known company, Dell should follow basic rules and respect the governments and companies from other countries.