COMPUTER INTEGRATED MANUFACTURING IN CHINA - A TRIP REPORT AND OBSERVATIONS

In April 1990, the People's Republic of China hosted the plenary session of the International Standards Organization subcommittee dealing with integration and communication for industrial automated systems. This session, held in Beijing, demonstrated China's interest in the subject amid its renewed desire to narrow the gap between China and advanced countries in automation technology. Representatives of fourteen nations attended the session. The author of this article, one of three U.S. delegates, had an opportunity to discuss with Chinese engineers and educators the status of their industry, and to visit universities and development laboratories. Those visits are discussed, and observations concerning China's present and future prospects relative to its goals of industrial modernization and self-reliance are reported.