Ed Cherniss, a Beckman executive, recounts his trip to China in the spring of 1975. (The first page is a photocopy.)

Beckman Instruments and its Research & Industrial Instrumentation Company (RIIC) exhibited passive components and instruments in Shanghai. Daily attendance was 10,000 per day, with attendees from diverse backgrounds, including students, farmers, and technical specialists.

While in China, Cherniss met with representatives of Machimpex, Machinery Corporation, Chemical Corporation, and East Asiatic Corporation to discuss potential sales. He toured a plant manufacturing spectrophotometers, colorimeters, and gas chromatographs; unimpressed by the physical condition of the facility and the reported delivery time for instruments, he wrote that “we do not need to worry about Chinese competition in instruments."

Cherniss visited sites of historical interest, including the Summer Palace, the Temple of the Sleeping Buddha, Fragrant Hill, People’s Square, the Great Hall, the Palace Museum, the Imperial Gardens, Ming Tombs, and the Great Wall. Other tours focused on modern facilities. At Children’s Palace #11, he saw children pursuing afterschool education in music and art. At #1 Pulmonary Tuberculosis Hospital, Cherniss observed surgery, with acupuncture as anesthesia. He was generally unimpressed by the conditions, cleanliness, and equipment at the hospital. He also visited the Long March People’s Commune, providing details about its history and output.