China Slowly Moves Into Computer Age

PEKING — About 80% of the computers in Peking sit idle in storage because of a lack of trained technicians, an official newspaper report said Friday.

The English-language China Daily newspaper quoted Lu Shouqun, head of the Peoples Office of Electronics Development, as saying the computer industry will shift its focus next year to better usage and software development.

In the last five years, Chinese offices and enterprises have gone on a computer-importing spree, and major world manufacturers have set up sales offices in Peking.

China also is developing a computer industry of its own, and the report said 32,000 microcomputers were manufactured in 1985, a 500-percent increase over 1980.