Dell buying $23B in components from China in ‘08

Dell Inc , plans to buy $23 billion worth of components and other parts from China in 2008. This marks a 28% jump from $18 billion the year before.

The company, - according to Reuters - disclosed the plans in a statement issued to reporters in Beijing.

The world’s second-largest personal computer maker, Dell is far from alone in looking to China to reduce manufacturing costs and remain competitive. In fact, last November, Cisco Systems Inc,. said it would almost double its purchasing from Chinese suppliers over five years to $16 billion.

Dell’s presence in China includes two manufacturing operations in the south, a product design centre in Shanghai - one of the company’s largest - and a sales support centre in the north east for customers in Japan and Korea.

“China is one of the most dynamic and fastest-growing economies in the world, and we have made significant business and social investments here in the past 10 years,” said Michael Dell.

Hardware makers such as Dell, Cisco and Hewlett-Packard (HP) could be hit hard by a U.S. economic downturn, Dell even more so because it relies on the U.S. for about half of its revenue, a much higher proportion than larger rival HP.

Dell was speaking at an event to celebrate 10 years of operations in China.