Computer maker Dell will invest $125 billion in China over the next five years, its CEO said on Thursday, as the firm continued to expand in the world's second-largest economy.

The world's third-largest maker of personal computers said the investment would contribute about $175 billion to imports and exports, sustaining more than one million jobs in China.

"The Internet is the new engine for China's future economic growth and has unlimited potential," chief executive Michael Dell wrote in a statement.

"Dell will embrace the principle of 'In China, for China' and closely integrate Dell China strategies with national policies," Dell said, adding that the company would continue to expand its research and development team in China.

Dell announced in 2010 it planned to spend $250 billion on procurement and other investments over the next 10 years in China, its second largest market outside the United States.

The company ranked third in global PC shipments in the second quarter after Lenovo Group Ltd and Hewlett-Packard Co, according to research firm International Data Corp. - Reuters