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saying "Time is money". In Shanghai and Guangzhou people I spoke to talked the language of capitalism: meeting market demands, piece working, bonus payments and so on. The results are visible. In a mighty inchoate rush Shenzhen has grown over ten years from a small town of 200,000 to over two million, thanks to a combination of the Hong Kong factor and the Special Economic Zone. Industrial growth has been 34% per annum. Roads built here and elsewhere ten years ago which then seemed to provide capacity well in excess of traffic, and seemed to go nowhere, are now congested.
13. The lack of maintenance of buildings in particular was evident and even new buildings looked old. This leads to one area of potential concern. The nuclear facility we saw at Daya Bay was being built to the highest standards. experience shows that it is not the design but poor man management and lack of maintainance that causes problems at nuclear power stations. If the Chinese don't maintain the highest levels in both management and building work then we could face the conditions in which a major accident could take place.
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14. We must ensure that British industry is well positioned to participate. There are signs of interest. ICI have told John MacDonald our Consul General in Shanghai that they have definite plans to move back in and Fisons are also considering re-investing after an absence of 11 years. Shell are currently carrying out a feasibility study for a major refinery. But John also told me that Germans, Italians and others on trade missions were arriving in Shanghai in plane loads. We need to match that. Alistair Frame, the Chairman of the China-British Trade Group, visited China shortly before me. But his visit lacked focus and we should look at whether we can sharpen their approach. I wonder also whether now is not the time to look again at stationing a trade office permanently in Guanzhou. At present Guangdong Province is covered from Hong Kong, a three hour train journey away. we are to compete effectively we need, like our European competitors, to have people on the ground to identify and exploit opportunities. A region of 65 million people with the fastest growth rate in the world probably needs closer attention than Hong Kong can provide, although given the close ties with Hong Kong we would need to keep the China Trade Unit operational there too. Given what we have done in the Baltic States and what we will have to do in the Ukraine we don't give this area the attention it deserves. I should be grateful for the views of FED and the Joint Directorate. must also ensure that adequate ECGD suport continues to be available. I was very heartened to see that the Prime Minister has ruled that cover must be made available for the Lantau Fixed Crossing and not linked to Shinjao C. power station. We must keep the Hong Kong and China markets separate. British companies have done well with ECGD cover and China has been a good customer: unlike the Soviet
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