Li Dongsheng, chairman of Chinese electronics company TCL, has been named Asia Businessman of the Year in 2004 by FORTUNE. "There's no company that has a better chance of becoming China's first truly global corporation than TCL," says FORTUNE Asia Editor Clay Chandler. His story, "TV's Mr. Big," appears in the 2004 February 9 issue of FORTUNE, and atwww.fortune.com.

A $560 million deal to merge its television manufacturing facilities with those of French consumer electronics giant Thomson leaves TCL with a 67% stake in a venture that is expected to have sales of $3.5 billion and ship more than 18 million televisions this year -- at least six million more than anyone else. The agreement constitutes one of the biggest deals in which a Chinese company has taken control of a Western enterprise.

TCL's move into the global market won't be a slam dunk, says Chandler, "but TCL has a good shot. For one thing, it has cash. But what really sets it apart is strategy." While other Chinese companies, such as Haier and Lenovo, are venturing abroad cautiously, reports Chandler, TCL under Li's leadership is bulking up fast.

Some analysts, though, question whether Thomson's technology and quality are in the same league as those of Sony and Philips, or whether Li can prove to Chinese authorities to loosen their grip on the company. Though TCL was the first large and competitive Chinese corporation in which Beijing has allowed state ownership to fall below 50%, it is still an experiment of sorts.

For Li, the question is whether the Thomson deal will help TCL get better rather than just bigger, says Chandler. And for China, the question is: If TFL falters -- with its advantages of cash, independence, and a strong overseas partner -- will the country ever become more than a workshop for other people's products?

(fortune.com)