ABSTRACT
Chinese mineral developments, especially petroleum, have been increasingly in the news. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is prominent in iron ore (low-grade), fertilizer, cement, and salt production. Like the United States and the Soviet Union, and unlike Japan, Canada, and Australia, China is both a large producer and a large consumer of minerals and metals. As befits a large country with a huge population, China produces a great variety of minerals and metals and ranks within the first three world producers in eight commodities and within the first five world producers in an additional ten commodities. Overall 1975 trade was slightly higher than the $14 billion estimated for 1974, and the balance-of-payments gap was cut down in comparison. The technological achievements for Chinese mineral industries have been uneven. By tradition Chinese workers are diligent, conscientious, and hardworking. They are disciplined and they are therefore a great asset to the PRC’s program of industrial and mineral development.
