Lenovo ready for the big league

Lenovo Group, the largest Chinese PC maker and the second-largest globally, was one of the first Chinese companies to enter the global market and compete with overseas brands. Liu Chuanzhi, the founder of Lenovo, admits that China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) fast-tracked Lenovo's internationalization process.

Liu set up Lenovo in 1984, with a team of 10 scientists and initial funding of 200,000 yuan ($31,489), at Zhongguancun in Beijing. "At that time, China's economy was still in its planned economy stage. All enterprises and government departments were required to purchase a local brand named Greatwall (for their computing devices), which did not have good quality," said Liu, who is now chairman of Legend Holdings.

During its initial stage, Lenovo was a very small computer company and did not have strong brand recognition. After China adopted the reform and opening-up policy, Lenovo slowly began to build its own brand image. After China joined the WTO in 2001, the Chinese government reduced tariffs for industries such as personal computers and telecommunications and opened the market to outside competition.