Page:The international development of China (IA developmentchina00suny).pdf/162

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128
DEVELOPMENT OF CHINA

shipping yards could not do this service for us on account of the impracticability of transporting such numerous small crafts across the ocean. Thus, in any case, China has to put up her own yards to build her inland water crafts and fishing fleets. So the establishment of ship building yards is a necessary as well as a profitable undertaking from the beginning. The shipping yards should be established at such river and coastal ports that have the facility of supplying materials and labor. All the yards should be under one central management. Large capital should be invested in the project so as to procure a yearly output of 2,000,000 tons of various kinds of vessels.

All types of vessels should be standardized both in design and equipment. The old and wasteful types of inland water crafts and fishing boats should be replaced by modern efficient designs. The inland water crafts should be designed on the basis of certain standard draughts such as the 2-foot, 5-foot, and 10-foot classes. The fishing trawlers should be standardized into the one-day, the five-day, and the ten-day service class. The coastal transports should be standardized into the 2,000-, the 4,000-, and the 6,000-ton class, and for oversea transports we should have standardized ships of 12,000-, 24,000-, and 36,000-ton classes. Thus, the many thousands of inland water crafts and fishing junks that now ply the rivers, lakes, and coasts of China may be displaced by new and cheaper crafts of a few standard types which could perform better services at less expense.