3 Wu-han-Continued

1960 and 1965-Based on a number of visitor reports and on technical relationships in the industry. 1970-Diplomat who visited plant reported 1970 production figures.

1972-Steel output was at an all-time high and 88 percent above 1965 ("Economic Reporter," English supplement. p. 24).

1973-Steel output was more than double 1965 "(China Reconstructs," May 1974, p. 38).

• Pao-t'ou:

1957-Steel was first produced in 1960.

1960-Based on known addition of 2 open-hearths in 1959-60.

1965-Based on known capacity in 1966, estimate that this capacity was being fully utilized in that year, and report that steel output increased by 107.5 percent in 1966 over 1965 in first 8 months (Peiping, "Jen-min Jih-pao,'' Sept. 24, 1966, p. 1).

1970-Estimate that plant regained 1966 production levels; no known increase in capacity.

1972-73-Based on capacity of equipment (2 pure-oxygen top-blown converters were added in 1970 according to BBC, Summary of World Broadcasts, SWB/FE/W604/11, Jan. 13, 1971, and straight line interpolation for 1970-73. Peking-Shih-ching-shan:

1957-No known production of steel.

1960-Based on increase of 35.8 percent in first 10 months of 1960 over all of 1959 (NCNA, Nov. 6, 1960) and 1959 estimate of production of 232,000 tons (NCNA, Sept. 10, 1959). Reported that 206,000 tons had been produced in first 8 months but this included production from primitive facilities which according to same source accounted for production in 1958.

of

1965-Production in 1974 was 10 times as great as national production in 1949 (158,000 tons) and 4 times as great as in 1965 (FBIS I, Jan. 28, 1975, p. K4). Therefore, production in 1965 was 395,000 tons.

1970-Production in 1970 was 68% above that of 1969 (PRS 61407), 1969 was an all-time high (FBIS I, Dec. 20, 1971, p. F7), and 1972 production was 3 times that of 1966. Therefore, 1966 production was 400,000 and 1969 was estimated as 410,000 tons. Production in 1970 then was 689,000 tons.

1972—JPRS 61407, Mar. 6, 1974, (from “Nhan Dan,” Dec. 17, 1973, p. 3).

1973-10 times national production in 1949 (FBIS 1, June 26, 1974, p. E4-NCNA, Peking, June 22, 1974).

* Chungking:

1957-Output in 1957 was 1⁄2 of 1958 plan (BBC, Summary of World Broadcasts, SWB 326, July 17, 1958, p. 9). 1960-Based on increases reported for 1958 (Peking, "Jen-min Jih-pao," Apr. 25, 1959), the 1st half of 1959. (FBIS, July 7, 1959, p. BBB7), and the 1st half of 1960 (Hankow, "Hupeh Jih-pao," Aug. 22, 1960, p. 4). 1965-Estimated that production near previous peak of 1.1 million tons (1960).

1970-Derived by using estimates of 10 percent increases in 1972-73 and 1971-72 and an increase of 41 percent reported for 1st 11 months of 1971 (Chengtu, Szechwan Provincial Service, Dec. 19, 1971). 1973-Final planned output of plant ("Metal Bulletin", June 24, 1960, p. 1).

7 Ma-an-shan:

1957 "Metal Bulletin," Apr. 5, 1960, p. 9.

1960, 1970-Based on known equipment and given or estimated operating coefficients.

1965-Steel production increased by 76 percent in 1970 over 1965 (FBIS I, Dec. 20, 1971, p. C1.)

1972-Steel production in 1972 was 2.58 times that of 1965 (Peking, "Chung-kuo Hsin-wen " May 9, 1973, p. 3). 1973-Steel production increased by 14.5 percent in 1st quarter (FBIS I, June 4, 1973, p. C12).

T'ai-yuan:

Practically no information available for this plant but estimate sizeable (over 1 million tons) because of equipment installed.

1957-Calculated: 1957 equals 22 times preliberation peak of 13,500 tons (FBIS 57 W 867, Peking, Aug. 11, 1957). 1960-Based on availability of equipment and estimated production coefficients.

1965-Estimate that attained previous peak level in 1966 and production in 1966 was 10 percent above 1965. 1970-Estimate slightly below previous peak level due to large increases reported for later years-53.5 percent in 1971 (T'ai-yuan, Shansi Provincial Service, Jan. 1, 1972).

1972-Probably another large increase-estimate 25 percent.

1973-Production up 32.3 percent in 1st quarter and estimate 25 percent for year (Hong Kong, "Ching-chi Tao-pao," Apr. 11, 1973, p. 16).

• Residual.

10 See table 5.

14

In contrast to An-shan, Shanghai was a minor producer of steel before the Communist takeover. Rapid expansion began in the late 1950's and production reached 2.6 million tons in 1960. The addition of top-blown oxygen converters in 1966 and a vacuum degassing unit in 197215 helped boost production in 1971-73. The Shanghai complex which specializes mainly in steel production, consists of as many as 10 individual plants. In 1965, only 270,000 tons of pig iron were produced. Some of the steelmaking capacity consists of electric furnaces. Pig iron and scrap metal are shipped from other parts of China and converted to finished steel products for use in the Shanghai area, particularly in the city's thriving machinery industry.

Construction began on the Wu-han Iron and Steel plant in 1958. The first heat of iron was produced by September of that year. By 1960, two large blast furnaces and one large open hearth furnace accounted for 1.2 million tons of pig iron and about 165.000 tons of steel. The third large blast furnace was completed in 1969" and the fourth in 1970. In the meantime at least two more open hearth units were added. Steel finishing capacity has been completed very slowly at this plant. Most of the machinery that was to be provided by the Soviet Union was never delivered and in the 1960's the Chinese were able to provide only a few pieces of simple equipment. The problem probably will be

14 China Reconstructs, April 1967, p. 21.

15 Peking Review, Nov. 16. 1973, p. 21.

16 Estimate based on equipment known to exist at the plant at that time.

17 Economic Reporter, April-June 1969, pp. 33-34.

18 JPRS 54739, Dec. 17, 1971, p. 12.

resolved only after the equipment purchased from Japan and West Germany is delivered or sometime around 1978.

Construction at Pao-t'ou also began in 1958. Production of pig iron was initiated in 1959 and of steel in 1960. This plant has been beset by problems of obtaining suitable coal (see the section on coke, above). The installation of equipment, especially rolling equipment, was greatly delayed by the withdrawal of Soviet technicians. Expansion has continued, however—the plant now probably has three large blast furnaces and five open hearths. The last two converters use pure oxygen in line with the latest technology. Improvements in ore preparation in 1970 and the completion of a steel rail-beam mill in 1968 have helped to stimulate recent increases in output.

20

19

Before 1958, the Shih-ching-shan plant in Peking only produced pig iron. Even by the mid-1960's steel production was only a third of pig iron production as the pigs were shipped elsewhere for refining. Since 1969, the addition of several open hearths has brought about an even balance between pig iron and steel production. Also, another large blast furnace has been added in recent years. Modern oxygen-fed equipment and rolling mills have been built at his plant, and a new mine was opened in 1972 to provide iron ore. This plant is now called the Capital Iron and Steel Plant.

The old Chungking plant developed by the Chinese Nationalists when they retreated to Szechwan is producing at only a slightly higher rate than it did in 1960 and 1965. Major expansion took place at this plant during the Leap Forward partly through expansion and modernization of existing facilities and partly by adding small blast furnaces for producing pig iron. Since 1960 further modernization has taken place including the addition of a giant conveyor system in 1965.23

The Ma-an-shan Steel Plant has gone from a small-scale plant to a large-scale modern facility. In the late 1950's, a number of medium-sized blast furnaces and open hearths were added. In a flurry of activity in the late 1960's, the plant was transformed into one of the most modern steel facilities in the country. The transformation included a great expansion of ore mining and beneficiating facilities, which made the complex self-sufficient in ore production. Also, two convertors were changed to pure-oxygen top-blown convertors; a limestone mine was built; rolling mills were improved; and silicon steel was trial produced. In 1971 alone, 10 major projects were started at the plant." As a result pig iron output is now nearly 2 million tons or 11⁄2 times output in 1960, and steel output has quadrupled over the same period.

26

25

The old steel facility at T'ai-yuan has been greatly expanded especially through the addition of BOFS imported from Austria in the mid-1960's. These converters contributed to the estimated doubling of production in the 1970's. An annealing furnace was added at the sheet steel rolling mill in 1973, which raised the mills productivity by nearly 20 times. Earlier, in 1970 a large sintering plant was built. The plant apparently has cold rolling facilities to produce grainoriented silicon steel for the electrical equipment industry. In addition, pig iron output has been increased through the renovation of at least one of the blast furnaces.

Two other iron and steel plants might fit into the category of large plants. One is the old Pen-chi plant in Northeast China. This plant produces more than 1.5 million tons of pig iron annually, but steel production is small, probably less than 200,000 tons." The other is a large plant that the Chinese claim has been completed in the interior' possibly somewhere along the newly opened Ch'engtu-K'un-ming railroad. Earlier reports claimed that large deposits of iron ore are located near Hsi-ch'ang in southwest Szechwan Province and that coking coal has been found near Hsuan-wei in Yunnan so the plant could be located

29

19 BBC, Summary of World Broadcasts, FE/W 604/A/11, Jan. 13, 1971 (NCNA, Peking, Jan. 3, 1971).

20 FBIS I, Dec. 21, 1970, p. F3 (NCNA, Peking, Dec. 20, 1970).

21 Jen-min Jih-pao, Feb. 1, 1969, p. 1.

22 BBC. Summary of World Broadcasts, FE/W669/A/15, Apr. 19, 1972.

23 FBIS 65, B1112, (Chengtu, Mar. 21, 1965).

24 FBIS I, Apr. 7, 1972, p. C1 (NCNA, Peking. Apr. 7, 1972).

25 Far Eastern Economic Review, Mar. 23. 1967, p. 570.

20 Chung-kuo Hsin-wen, Peking. Sept. 18, 1973, p. 6.

27 CMP-SCMP 71-23 D 17 (NCN. Peking. Mar. 31, 1971).

28 Estimates of production of pig iron and steel are based on the amount of equipment available in 1965. and reports of expansion of facilities and improvements in operating efficiency since 1970.

20 FBIS I, Dec. 28, 1973, p. B3 (NCNA, Peking, Dec. 27, 1973).

somewhere near the Yunnan-Szechwan border. The Chinese have chosen not to provide any details on the precise location or size of this facility.

Most noteworthy among the medium-sized modern plants are the plants at Fula-erh-chi, Tang-shan, and Ta-yeh (Huang-shih). The Fu-la-erh-chi plant, an electric furnace facility, is a major producer of high quality alloy steel. It was one of the major Soviet-aid projects of the 1950's. The Tang-shan plant rapidly approaching major plant status, produced 707,000 tons of steel in 1972 as compared to only 239,000 tons in 1957. The Ta-yeh plant, located near the major iron ore deposits in eastern Hupeh, was built up during the Leap Forward. Its production probably amounts to 300,000-400,000 tons. Other medium-sized plants are located at Canton, Chiang-yu, Dairen, Hsiang-tan, Hsuan-hua, K'un-ming, Shenyang, and Tientsin. (See figure 1.)

30

30 Chung-kuo Hsin-wen, Peking, Sept. 10, 1973, p. 11.

For nearly a quarter of a century, the People's Republic of China has engaged in a series of programs aimed at establishing a telecommunications system that would meet the basic needs of the economy, the government, and the armed forces. When the Communists achieved power in 1949, they inherited a primitive and badly damaged telecommunications system. For the next 3 years, the main task was to restore the system to its former state to satisfy the most pressing communications needs of the new government.

By 1953, the Communists were prepared to expand the existing system and to link the major provincial cities to Peking by open wire trunklines. Substantial progress was made during the First Five-Year Plan (1953-57), although the Chinese were heavily dependent on Soviet and East European equipment and technology. In 1958, as part of the euphoric Great Leap Forward, Peking announced a new 4-year plan to establish a modern telecommunications system, complete with high-capacity microwave radio relay and coaxial cable trunk routes. Shortages of material and equipment, the withdrawal of Soviet assistance in mid-1960, and the general collapse of the Leap Forward forced the Chinese to postpone their highly ambitious program.

After a pause in the early 1960's, expansion of the telecommunications system was again given high priority.

Greater attention was given to the development of the electronics industry. Complete plants for the production of electronic components and test instrumentation were imported from the West. The Cultural Revolution (1966-69) caused a sharp but short-lived cut in industrial production. The adverse effect on the production of telecommunications equipment was temporary, and the technological improvement and the expansion of the capacity of the electronics industry continued. The most significant achievement during China's current Five-Year Plan (1971-75) has been the construction of an arterial network of long-distance telecommunications facilities to provide the transmission base for future increases in the flow of conventional and specialized telephone, telegraph, and video traffic. Other achievements during this period have been the spread of radio, wire diffusion, and television broadcasting facilities and the establishment of a nationwide television network. This has been accomplished by substantial increases in the production of radio and television receivers and wire loudspeakers. Progress also has been made in augmenting both facsimile facilities and automating conventional telegraph operations as well as in enlarging and automating telephone exchanges. These achievements have fulfilled China's basic needs for long-range development of a domestic telecommunications system.

Progress also has been made in developing China's international telecommunications. Since 1972, three standard Intelsat ground stations have been purchased from the United States. A coaxial cable link has been established between Canton and Hong Kong, and agreement has been reached with a Japanese consortium to lay a coaxial submarine cable from Shanghai to Japan. Efforts also are being made to improve the quality of radiotelephone circuits and to expand international telecommunications by using the transit relay services offered by major world telecommunications centers.

Despite these successes, China still has far to go before it can attain a telecommunications capability comparable to Western systems. Telephones continue to be in short supply. Telegraph service is limited by the nature of the written language. Use of a numeric code partly overcomes this problem, and the Chinese are starting to use computercontrolled electrostatic printers and facsimile equipment. Plans are also under way to introduce color television on a national scale even though the black-and-white system is only narrowly developed. China cannot solve its many telecommunications problems within the next 5 years unless an unparalleled effort is made to import large quanti