South Korean electronics giant Samsung Electronics will plough US$1 billion into China this year and cut non-R&D spending to cope with the economic downturn, a senior company official said on Friday.

Samsung will "strive not to cut jobs in its China operations", Wang Tong, vice-president of Samsung China, said.

The South Korean firm will also develop more medium- and lower-end products in the country to meet demand, said Wang, who also serves as chief technology officer of Samsung China.

(China Daily February 27, 2009)