Widening Scope

The initial emphasis has been on heavy industry and producer goods such as machine tools and in these fields China is becoming increasingly self-sufficient. At the same time, there is an increasing range of products and this was very clearly shown by the Exhibition of Light Industry at Canton and the National Exhibition of Industry and Communications at Peking.

The former featured a wide range of specialised goods, from pharmaceuticals to electrical and optical equipment, as well as high grade textiles and knitwear. The finish and quality of these left nothing to be desired. The Peking Exhibition featured the newest and most striking achievements of modern industry in China—electric locomotives, hydraulic presses, steam turbine generators, precision lathes, cars and tractors.

The exhibitions confirmed the impression I had formed while visiting the rapidly expanding cities of the interior and south—that a new and major industrial power was entering the world market. And later, in Hong Kong and Singapore, cheap and high quality Chinese-made consumer goods, such as cashmere sweaters and optical goods, were much in evidence, first signs of what may be a major trade drive in South and South-east Asia.