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ROAD CONSTRUCTION.
127. If her railway development is poor there is no word to describe China's position in regard to roads. Except in the imme- diate vicinity of the largest towns, roads as we know them hardly exist. The need for work on this necessary service is one which is fully realised by the Ministry of Communications, and schemes are on foot for much new construction, first near the cities and then further afield. This will lead to a demand for steel work for bridges, including important works such as a bridge over the Sungarei river at Harbin and over other rivers and creeks. The development will also bring an increasing demand for rollers and other road contracting plant. It is stated that our rollers are the most liked but that a well built 6-ton roller is required for local needs as well as our usual heavier models.
MOTOR CARS.
128. Import of motor cars into the China market which in pre- war years were negligible, amounted in 1928 to £750,000 and in 1929 to nearly £1.5 million. Of this quantity the U.S.A. supplied 46 per cent. direct from factories in America, and 36 per cent. from branch factories in Japan. Great Britain made a very poor showing with 5 per cent. only. The total number of cars imported into China in 1929 was 8,869. Of these 3,524 were supplied direct from United States factories and 3,582 from American branch factories in Japan, whilst from Great Britain 392 cars only were shipped direct to Chinese ports. The following is an estimate of the percentages of American motor vehicles used in China, as at January 1st, 1930 :—
Passenger cars Motor trucks Motor 'buses
Motor cycles
Per cent.
89
97
95
50
129. American motor car manufacturers have been most ener- getic in their pioneer work in this market. They appear to have ample financial facilities to do business on deferred payment terms and have spent and are spending large sums on demonstration and propaganda in China. The Americans are strongly entrenched in the market with resident factory representatives, good agents and ample supplies of spare parts. On the other hand British motor cars are very little known or used and very little serious attempt appears to have been made by British manufacturers to enter the market on any considerable scale. In view of the greatly increased mileage of highways recently constructed in China and the still greater new mileage planned, it is imperative that British manu- facturers lose no time in closely investigating the requirements of a market which is likely to prove very large. Cars and trucks of
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moderate price, with engine power of ample capacity for flexible driving and simple to handle will form the bulk of the demand. It is essential that British vehicles should be demonstrated in China, followed by intelligent advertising and propaganda. For such work a group of British makers of passenger cars and trucks should establish an Intelligence and Demonstration Centre in China.
130. Large passenger buses are possible of operating in the larger cities only. In some country districts where roads are merely soft dirt tracks there would appear to be good openings for six wheeled vehicles to carry 22 ton to 33 ton loads. The demand for all other vehicles will be mainly for 1 ton to 2 ton trucks and 4 to 5 pas- senger open and closed passenger cars of from 12 H.P. to 20 H.P. Simplicity and strength are essential, for the Chinese driver with few exceptions is not as yet highly skilled in the care and use of fine and intricate machinery.
It is estimated that apart from Treaty Ports not more than 5 per cent. of the motor vehicles in use in the interior of China are of British manufacture.
HARBOURS AND WATERWAYS.
131. The development of harbours and improvement of water- ways is to be undertaken by the National Construction Commission which has a Conservancy Department. So far this Department has organised :-
The North China River Commission,
The Taiha Basin Waterways Commission,
The Great Eastern Port Development Board, and The Great Northern Port Development Board,
All these boards are busy with plans and surveys, in particular the port of Yungkia and the harbour of Shanmen Bay have been reported on for early action.
Undoubtedly in the near future considerable openings for con- structional work and dredging plant will develop. In the past practically all technical work on modern lines has been due to foreign initiative and direction. The intention now seems to be to use more and more Chinese control and Chinese engineering students.
That these new experts should be so trained as to understand and appreciate British methods and British products would be an invaluable support to British participation in the developments.
In such important work the clearer and better the specification the better chance there will be for British materials. Regarding dredgers our prices are quite competitive, but it must not be for- gotten that dredgers can be built by several local dockyards, in which cases we must go out for co-operation on materials and accessories.
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