(Yicai Global) March 14 -- Personal computer shipments in China will likely grow next year after declining by double-digits last year and remaining flat this year, according to a new market research report from Canalys.

China’s PC market is expected to recover and grow in 2024, with shipments likely to jump 7 percent from this year, as the government aims to encourage consumption and increase disposable incomes, said the report published today.

Some 48.3 million PCs, including desktop computers, notebooks, and workstations, will reach Chinese customers this year, Canalys noted. Tablets are excluded from the count.

The commercial market is likely to recover 10 percent this year with the gradual upturn in economic activity, it added. But the consumer market will contract by 9 percent, with a possible bounce back in the fourth quarter, the report said. 

PC shipments fell 15 percent to 48.5 million units in China in the 12 months ended Dec. 31 from the year before, impacted by the Covid-19 epidemic, Canalys pointed out. Fourth-quarter shipments plunged 26 percent on the year.

Shipments of tablets rose 6 percent to 24 million in 2022 from the year before and soared 22 percent from the pre-pandemic level, as the pandemic drove higher demand for work- and study-from-home devices.

Competition in the tablet market is intensifying as more and more headset makers aim to grab a share while consumer acceptance of the inter-connected device ecosystem is growing, said Emma Xu, an analyst at Canalys.

Consumer demand for tablets will slow this year as the devices have become broadly accessible during the last three years, Canalys noted, adding that this will result in deliveries falling 8 percent to about 22.1 million units. They will likely grow 1 percent next year.

Editor: Martin Kadiev