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Germany's contracts in doubt

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GERMAN special envoy Dieter Kastrup has apparently been unable to finalise certain key projects Chancellor Dr Helmut Kohl hopes to sign during his forthcoming visit to Beijing.

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Mr Kastrup, the Assistant Foreign Minister, held two days of talks with senior Chinese officials, including Foreign Minister Qian Qichen, in Beijing this week, in preparation for Dr Kohl's visit. But German officials have conceded that several economic and trade contracts have yet to be agreed.

In particular, the massive Guangzhou subway project, in which German companies are competing against an Anglo-French consortium, has not yet been secured.

''As far as we know, that project is still up in the air,'' a German official said.

Furthermore, a multi-million-dollar expansion project at Shanghai's Baoshan Iron and Steel works that German companies were hopeful of winning was recently awarded to a Japanese consortium that put in a lower bid.

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The loss was described by a German Embassy official as ''disappointing''.

But despite these apparent setbacks, German officials are confident that Dr Kohl, on his first visit to China in six years, will be able to return with a substantial number of trade and investment agreements.

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