(Yicai) Aug. 8 -- Hewlett-Packard has denied a media report that said the US personal computer maker will move more than half of its production capacity away from China, saying the country is an indispensable part of the firm’s global supply chain.

HP has a pivotal position in the PC manufacturing market in China, the California-based company told The Paper today, adding it will spare no efforts in its operations and development in China.

Nikkei Asia reported yesterday that HP is looking to shift more than half of its personal computer production out of China in an attempt to hedge against geopolitical risks. The firm is in talks with suppliers about the move and aims to achieve its target in two to three years, the report said, adding that Thailand is a likely destination for the move.

“Our teams in China are, and will continue to be, one of our most important manufacturing, engineering and innovation hubs,” Ernest Nicolas, HP’s chief supply chain officer, said in a blog post on the company’s website today.

“The advanced infrastructure and manufacturing talent pipeline allows it to serve as our standard of production that our global network strives towards,” Nicolas added.

HP’s China headquarters are in Beijing. Its major PC production plant is in Chongqing, which is also the firm’s largest notebook computer factory worldwide. HP held a ceremony last September to celebrate the 400 millionth computer rolling off the Chongqing production line.

HP’s global shipments jumped 1.8 percent to 13.7 million units in the second quarter of this year from a year ago, ranking second among all computer makers after China’s Lenovo Group, per statistics from market researcher International Data Corporation.

Editor: Tom Litting