Senior Chinese officials check out wood construction in B.C.

B.C. government officials have been travelling to China for the past several years to promote the use of lumber in construction, now, their counterparts from China are visiting here.

Chinese officials, including high-ranking Chinese vice-minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Qiu Bao Xing, visited Vancouver this week to discuss how B.C. wood-frame construction can help solve China's housing and building needs.

A joint working committee has been created where B.C. will get an opportunity to share expertise in wood-frame building design, advanced wood technologies and wood's environmental benefits.

"Through collaborative efforts like this joint working committee, we are creating a win-win situation," said Bell, the MLA for Prince George-Mackenzie.

"China is able to expand its use of energy-efficient wood-frame building, while B.C. is establishing an important fast-growing market for our forestry companies on the coast and throughout the interior of the province," said Bell.

The vice-minister's stop-off in Vancouver included a visit to B.C's first six-storey wood frame condo under development in Richmond. The province recently changed its building code to allow construction to six storeys.

China has called for a a major housing build in the next five years of 36 million affordable units, 10 million each in 2011 and 2012.

Combined with China's annual building rate of 10 million housing units, it has British Columbia eyeing the 86 million units that could be built in the next five years.

The estimates in China dwarf the current American annual housing starts of less than 600,000, even considering that Chinese housing units are smaller on average than in the United States.

While some lumber is being used in construction in areas such as roof trusses and in-fill walls, the B.C. government and industry is hoping to introducer lumber construction into three-to-six-storey walk-ups, a common-form of housing in China.

As part of their recently-released five-year plan, the Chinese government has also said it wants to reduce its carbon footprint, considered an important element in combatting climate change. Wood is considered environmentally friendly because it is a renewable resource, unlike steel and concrete. Replanted forests can help sequester carbon, and wood in housing also helps store carbon.

B.C. has already seen a significant increase in lumber shipments to China.

Last year, B.C. shipped 2.8 billion board feet of lumber to China, nearly double the amount from 2009. This year, the province hopes to top 4 billion board feet to China.

The increased exports to China are helping companies like Canfor, West Fraser, Hampton, Conifex, and Tolko restart shuttered mills hit hard during the U.S. housing collapse of the past several years.