Asustek and Tsinghua Tongfang Tie-up?

Taiwan's China Times has reported rumors (article here) that Asustek and Tsinghua Tongfang may merge in a bid to replicate the success of Acer's alliance with Founder.  If such a merger occurred, the Chinese marketplace that Lenovo relies on would probably become not quite so hospitable.  One more reason to think Lenovo will continue its decline and no longer rank among the major global PC vendors (if measured in something more sensible than just unit sales in China).