TNAG-1160-FCO40-1440-Visit-by-Margaret-Thatcher--UK-Prime-Minister--to-Hong-Kong--1982 — Page 74

Cable and Wireless plc is embarking on a major new initiative in Guangdong, the Chinese pro- vince with over 60 million population which has been selected by the Government in Beijing as an area where dynamic industrial growth will

industrial growth will be accelerated in the immediate future.

An agreement in principle between Cable and Wireless and the Guangdong Posts and Telecommuni- cations Administrative Bureau (GPTB) for collabora- tion in the construction of a 960-channel microwave radio system already exists. The formal contract will be signed in London in early September by Mr Eric Sharp, Chairman of Cable and Wireless and Mr Li Qingwan, Director of the GPTB.

stretch nearly

The microwave system will 1,000 km along the entire length of the

the province from Shantou in the east to the island

island of Hainan in the west (see map attached).

Opportunities are certain to arise for manu- facturers and it is the intention of Cable and Wireless, if possible, to bring a team of about eight senior Chinese engineers involved in the pro- ject to fly to the UK and visit interested companies (GEC, Lucas, STC, etc.).

Although the microwave system is

system is the biggest project in which Cable and Wireless has so far been involved in mainland China, it is hoped that it will be only the first of а number of joint schemes in which the company will be involved in Guangdong and the neighbouring province of Fujian. The Guangdong microwave system will provide а telecommunication backbone system for

system for the entire province and, judging by past experience, its construction will be a power- ful stimulus to further development. The backbone will link the key centres of the South China Sea offshore oil fields (Shenzhen, Mo Ming, Guangzhou and Chi Wan) as well as the new Special Economic Zones. The latter will depend on good communica- tions with industrial and commercial entrepreneurs in Hong Kong, Macau and elsewhere who will provide funding for a series of joint ventures which are at the heart of plans for very rapid economic development of the province.