Hewlett-Packard (HP) will sell a controlling 51 per cent stake in its China-based data-networking business to China's Tsinghua Unigroup for at least US$2.3 billion, forming a partnership designed to create a Chinese technology powerhouse.

State-backed Tsinghua Holdings' subsidiary Unisplendour Corp will acquire 51 per cent of HP's H3C Technologies for at least US$2.3 billion, Unisplendour said in a statement to the Shenzhen stock exchange late on Thursday.

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The US company also said in a statement on Thursday it will form a partnership with Tsinghua Holdings, affiliated with China's elite Tsinghua University, to create a group in China to house H3C's networking operation alongside its China-based server, data-storage and technology-services businesses.

HP said in its statement it valued its H3C business at US$4.5 billion. The company had previously valued the unit at US$5.5 billion, people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters last month.