The first VLBI experiment between Shanghai and Effelsberg, West Germany, was carried out at 1430 MHz in November 1981. The observations lasted 54 hours and the Mark II recording system and hydrogen masers were used at both stations. Fourteen extragalactic sources covering a wide range of declination were duly observed. The Shanghai-Effelsberg baseline vector was determined to an estimated formal precision of 2–3 metres and the positions of the sources 1739 + 52 and 1928 + 73, to 0 ″ . 05 − 0 ″ . 08 in each coordinate, with the effects of the ionosphere not removed. The source of 1928 + 73 was found to be double with a component separation of 0 ″ . 0089 .