TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

AT&T; Signs Pact With China: American Telephone & Telegraph Co. signed a manufacturing agreement with China’s State Planning Commission in a deal potentially worth billions of dollars. The memorandum of understanding covers a wide range of business areas, most immediately for joint-venture production of telephone switching equipment. It is one of the major achievements of a Sino-American trade agreement signed last October to open Chinese markets to American products. The agreement gives AT&T; a powerful ally in penetrating what is the largest potential market for telecommunications equipment. China is expected to install between 6 million and 10 million telephone lines each year over the next several decades.