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period of reassessment means that any progress will be slow. The Japanese already have a way into the market through their low interest loans tied to railways. Railways is also a field where the Chinese will be able to provide much of what they need themselves. Nevertheless railways are bound to be a substantial priority in the modernisation of the Chinese economy and our experience of modernising an existing railway system is particularly relevant to Chinese needs. They also seem unlikely to be able to provide for themselves the advanced technology they will need.
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It was encouraging that the Chinese seemed to be treating the Arrangement for Scientific and Technical Co- operation which I signed with the Minister of Railways last year as a framework for developing possible trade contacts.
Three British rail firms - · GEC Traction, Cowans-Sheldon and Dowty Engineering have already visited China under the Arrangement and put proposals to the Chinese for supplying equipment. A fourth, Brush Electric, will be going out to China fairly soon and the prospects for at least some business look fairly good. I also established that the Chinese will be inviting Transmark, British Rail's overseas operation, who are project managers on the electrification of the rail line
from Hongkong to the Chinese border, to advise on the
electrification of the line on the Chinese side as far as
Canton. The only worrying point is that one of the firms, Dowty Engineering, were shown quite openly by the Chinese a piece of equipment which had been copied from Dowty patents.
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kama za Te var ŠPANUNULMAZ SMO SE JOAN SONG TERKIEMELDETURNS COMMANDEREN KALEDONARZALANYA ER DE
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