The "Tongfang Weishi" (THSCAN) Large Container Stationary Inspection System was put into operation at the customs of Ningbo and Guangzhou recently. Those are two cities on the coastline of Zhejiang and Guangdong Provinces.

Developed by the Tsinghua Tongfang Company, the system is especially designed to combat smuggling activities at the customs. It can easily detect materials in cargoes with X-ray radiation. 21 sets of the container scanner system have been put into service at customs in China, according to the customs head office.

Tsinghua Tongfang Nuctech inked the US$3 million contract with the Australian Customs authority for its X-ray scanner in May this year. The deal, which is the product's first contract for export, signals a successful step in the Chinese Government's strategy to translate technological advantages into commercial uses. The Australians bought two sets of systems from the Tsinghua Tongfang Nuctech company this time. The machines will be installed at the ports of Sydney and Melbourne Customs.

According to the Nuctech Company, the THSCAN system employs the world's most advanced electron linear accelerator as its radiation source.

(Li Jing 12/28/2001)