Telecommunications Systems in China

By 1987, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications became the agency tasked to administer China's telecommunications systems and related research and production facilities. On top of postal services, some of which were handled by an automated electronic process, the ministry was in charge of the delivery of a wide spectrum of services ranging from phone, wire, telegraph, and international communications.

In 1982, the Ministry of Radio and Television was carved out of the Ministry as a separate entity, and mandated to administer and upgrade the status of television and radio broadcasting. Subordinate to this ministry were the Central People's Broadcasting Station, China Central Television and Radio Beijing. Organizations that were in charge with broadcasting training, talent-search, research, publishing, and manufacturing organizations were also brought under the umbrella of the Ministry of Radio and Television. Renamed Ministry of Radio, Cinema, and Television, it also took over in 1986 the responsibility for the movie industry, from the Ministry of Culture.

By 1987 the quality of telecommunications services in China had gone considerable improvements than in earlier years. Also, in the post-Mao period, foreign technology entered droves in the country while domestic production capabilities surged.

Primarily, the form of communications in the 1980s was local and long distance telephone service administered by 6 regional bureaus: Chengdu, Wuhan, Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, and Shenyang. These regional offices also operated as switching centers for provincial level subsystems. By 1986 China had nearly 3 million telephone exchange lines, including 34,000 long-distance exchange lines with direct, automatic service to 24 cities. As the end of 1986 was approaching, fiber optic communications technology gradually replaced existing telephone circuits.

Shanghai and Beijing served as overseas exchanges for international services. While Guangdong also acted as a vital gateway with its coaxial cable and microwave lines linking it to both Hong Kong and Macau.

The massive satellite ground stations were originally installed in 1972 to provide live airing of the visits to China by U.S. president Richard M. Richard Nixon and Japanese PM Kakuei Tanaka was upgraded continuously and acted as the base for China's international satellite communications network until the mid-80s. By 1977 China had joined Intelsat and, using ground stations in Beijing and Shanghai the country linked to satellites over the Indian and Pacific oceans.

According to BBG Communications, in April 1984, an experimental communications satellite for trial transmission of broadcasts, telegrams, telephone calls, and facsimile, to remote areas of the country was launched. Following this, China launched in February 1986 its first fully operational telecommunications and broadcast satellite. The quality and communications capabilities of the 2nd satellite was praised as far better than the 1st. In the mid-1987 both satellites were still operating. Taking advantage of these satellite systems in place, China's domestic satellite communication network went into operation, facilitating television and radio transmissions and providing direct-dial long distance telephone, telegraph, and facsimile service. The network boasts of ground stations in Beijing, Urumqi, Hohhot, Lhasa, and Guangzhou, which were all tapped to an Intelsat satellite over the Indian Ocean.

While the telephone network surged, telegraph development was of second priority mainly due to the difficulties involved in transmitting the written Chinese language. But this technical difficulty of how to put in writing the Chinese language properly, was improved dramatically by computer technology. By 1983 China had nearly 10,000 telegraph cables and telex lines transmitting over 170 million messages annually. Most telegrams were transmitted by cables or by shortwave radio.