China Fury At U.S. "Cold War" Policy

China fury at US 'Cold War' policy

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/mai...31/ixcity.html

(Filed: 31/05/2006)

The Chinese government has described a decision by the United States not to use computers made by Chinese company Lenovo as smacking of a "Cold War mentality".

The US government decided not to use the computers due to security risks. "This is a discriminatory policy against the normal business of Lenovo," said Chong Quan, China's Ministry of Commerce spokesman. "It embodies a Cold War mentality and is arbitrarily invoking national security as a reason."

The US State Department bowed to objections from the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, which looked into the deal for computers signed in March.

In 2004, Lenovo bought IBM's personal computer business for $1.75bn (£940m), in what was then the largest buyout of an overseas concern by a mainland Chinese company, despite objections over Lenovo's ownership by Legend Holdings, which is majority-owned by the state's Chinese Academy of Sciences.