Intel’s Move Nods to China Gadget Clout, Smells Slightly of Desperation 英特尔人事调动突显中国市场影响力

Everyone is chattering about the the upcoming move to China by Intel’s (Nasdaq: INTC) Sean Maloney, considered a potential successor to CEO Paul Otellini, so I’ll give my own thoughts on the significance of this move. To summarize, Intel said that Maloney, who had been on medical leave after suffering a stroke 15 months ago, will return to work in the newly created position as chairman of China, an unprecedented move for this very US-centric company. (English article; Chinese article) First the more positive side, which is that this move is a clear affirmation by the world’s largest PC chip maker that China is without question the most important global market after the US for gadget innovation. It’s already the world’s second biggest PC market, and is increasingly a top designer and consumer of smartphones that will eventually take over the mobile communications market. So obviously it behooves Intel to have a major executive here. Now the less positive side, namely, that Intel, like Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), is quite simply in danger of losing its relevance in the computing world as more and more people look to mobile computing on a new range of devices like smartphones and tablet PCs — areas in which Intel is just a tiny force unlike the PC area that it dominates. In short, I see this move by Intel as both a nod to the importance of China, but also slightly smelling of desperation as it looks to re-find its way back to relevance in the computing world of the 21st century. Accordingly, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some major strategy shifts and big announcements coming from Intel China after Maloney assumes his new position.

Bottom line: Intel’s move of its potential next CEO to China is a gamble the company must take if it wants to have any chance of retaining its position as a global leader in computing chips.

人人都在讨论马宏升（Sean Maloney）出任英特尔<INTC.O>中国区首任董事长一事，因马宏升被认为有可能成为英特尔CEO欧德宁的接班人。在我看来，英特尔宣布马宏升在因中风病休15个月後复出，将出任英特尔新设立的中国区董事长一职，对於这样一家典型的“美国中心型”企业可谓前所未有的举动。首先说积极面，英特尔此举显然是在肯定中国在科技产品创新方面已是美国之後最重要的海外市场。中国已经是全球第二大个人电脑（PC）市场，而且日益迈向智能手机顶级设计国与消费国。所以英特尔在中国安排一位重要高管顺理成章。再谈一下不太积极的一面：随着越来越多的人转向智能手机、平板电脑等移动设备，英特尔与微软<MSFT.O>类似，在电脑世界正面临失势危险。在智能手机与平板电脑等领域，英特尔影响力甚微，远不具备它在传统PC领域的那种主导地位。简言之，我认为英特尔此举一方面肯定了中国市场的重要地位，但也有孤注一掷、力图在21世纪电脑世界重塑辉煌的嫌疑。同理，马宏升新官上任後若宣布重大战略调整等重要举措，我不会感到意外。

一句话：英特尔若想保住在电脑芯片领域的全球领先地位，将下任CEO潜在人选调往中国是它必须做出的一搏。

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Apple Takes A Second Look at China for iPad 2 苹果重新考虑中国市场

◙ Micron Nods to China’s Gadget Clout 美光科技押宝中国电子器件市场