TEN-YEAR PLAN.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 252, 24 October 1931, Page 9

TEN-YEAR PLAN.

INDUSTRIAL CHINA.

Colossal Development Plan

Envisaged.

£2,200,000,000 INVOLVED

(United P.A.—Electric Telegraph—Copyright)

(Received 10.30 a.m.)

WASHINGTON, October 2-3.

A ten-year industrialisation plan, calling for the expenditure of £2,200,000,000 -for machinery involving construction alone, is being considered by the Chinese Government.

A report to the Department of Commerce on -Friday stated that the plan called for the use of Government and private credit instead of Government ownership, as in the case of Russia's five-year plan.

The Trade Commissioner at Shanghai, Mr. Ehrhardt, says the plan looks forward to a firmly entrenched Central Government which could exploit the great natural resources of the country. The first step would be the establishment at Nanking of a school headed by expert foreigners to train an army of highly skilled Chinese mechanics to construct the machinery and Instal it in Government factories.

The plan involves the development of harbours, canals, railways, roads, the opening up of the vast undeveloped area in the north-west of China, and the setting up of agricultural and pastoral industries throughout'the republic.

This development would cover a wide range of industrial activities designed to produce iron, steel, bricks, cement, locomotives, ships, coal tar, chemicals and electricity.