US microprocessor maker AMD will set up a joint research center in Beijing, as part of its commitment to the world's fastest growing PC market.

The chipmaker will collaborate with the China Electronics Standardization Institute of the Ministry of Industry and Information for the project. They will use the facility to research and develop test and evaluation technologies of integrated circuit and central processing units.

"China is one of the engines driving AMD's global evolution and today's announcements reflect our commitment to and belief in the future of China and its strong technical community," said Dirk Meyer, president and chief operating officer of AMD.

"We appreciate the strategic relationships we've developed with our customers in China and look forward to further collaboration as we bring industry-leading AMD technology to business users and consumers throughout the region."

China is now one of the fastest growing markets of the chip maker, which had told China Daily last year that it expects the nation to become its single largest market by 2009.

The company has a research and development center in Shanghai and an assembly and testing plant in Suzhou, a booming manufacturing city in Jiangsu province. In 2005, it transferred its technologies in industrial microprocessors to the Peking University, as part of its cooperation with local industries.

The chipmaker has increased its market share in China over the past years, thanks to its achievements in broadening its relationships with PC makers in China.

Over the past year, all major PC makers in China like Lenovo, Tongfang and Founder have rolled out desktops and laptops equipped with AMD processors. Even Dell, the world's second largest PC maker, decided to add AMD to it vendor list last year, rather than sticking to AMD's rival Intel.

Computer makers like IBM, HP and Dawning have also opted for the smaller chip maker for its servers, helping the company to expand in the enterprise processor market.

"We expect AMD to gain market share in China this year," said Simon Ye, an analyst with US IT consultancy Gartner.

The company also donated 1 million yuan yesterday to Tsinghua University for a scholarship, trying to help nurture tech talents in the nation.

Over the past week, AMD has brought its executive operating committee to China for the first time, which shows the importance it attaches to the Chinese market, the company said.

In addition, AMD has announced that it is donating 1 million yuan in disaster relief to earthquake-hit areas in Sichuan province.

(China Daily May 15, 2008)