AST Research Inc. Makes $10-Million Deal to Export Personal Computers to China
AST Research Inc., an Irvine personal computer maker that has been trying to establish a major presence in the Chinese market, may finally have achieved its breakthrough.
The company said Friday that it has finalized a $10-million deal with the Chinese government to export more than 3,000 personal computers to China. The deal is believed to be the largest single computer sale to China by an Orange County company.
The sale to China’s Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Petroleum involves AST’s Premium/286 and Premium/386 models and related computer gear, said Liz Sidman-Wright, an AST spokeswoman.
AST has had limited sales of personal computers and memory boards to China, but this is by far the company’s largest sale to that country.
The deal may signal a change in attitude on the part of China’s leadership, which for several years has been discouraging imports of personal computers as the nation seeks to develop its own fledgling computer industry and preserve foreign exchange.
China has clamped down on personal computer imports by imposing stiff tariffs and other trade barriers on foreign equipment. China has developed a personal computer similar to IBM’s Personal Computer AT and XT models. China has even exported a limited number of its Great Wall personal computers to the United States.
U.S. computer makers have been eyeing the Chinese market with great expectation for years. But sales have generally been difficult to come by.
The U.S. government has gradually been easing restrictions on computer exports to China, and that move is expected to aid American manufacturers’ export efforts.
The American Electronics Assn., a Santa Clara-based trade association, opened an office in Beijing earlier this year to promote joint ventures and exports of electronic equipment.
In 1987, U.S. computer manufacturers exported about $150 million worth of equipment to China.
AST officials said earlier this month that the company is considering opening a sales and service office in Beijing.
Several other Orange County computer makers have exported products to China, including CalComp, CMS Enhancements, EECO and Western Digital.
