Dominique Patton writes in Eurobiz:

Lezhi, an obscure Sichuan town two hours from Chengdu by bus, people are saving up to buy their first car, or - computer makers hope - their first PC, to keep in touch with family members working far away.

There are already 1 billion internet users in the world, and PC purveyors anticipate a significant number of the next billion to come from China - the country's computer market is already the world's second-largest and among the fastest-growing.

County capitals like Lezhi, generally classified as "fourth-tier" cities, are crucial to expansion - but the challenges are many. "China is one of the most complex markets in the world today," says Adrian Koch, senior vice-president of Hewlett-Packard's (HP) Personal Systems Group in Asia. "The entire country is like a million smaller, unique, heterogeneous markets - each with its own customer response and demand parameters."

To read more:

http://www.sinomedia.net/eurobiz/v200708/feature0708.html