Sustainable Construction Materials for a Growing Chinese Market
September 2011
FondAction office building, Quebec City, Quebec. Photo credit: CSN FondAction.China is Canada’s largest offshore market for wood products on a volume basis. Exports of wood products to China from Canada have increased 26-fold since 2001.
In British Columbia alone, softwood lumber exports to China in May of 2011 totalled $120 million. This was significant as it was the first time that exports to China were larger than to the United States, which has traditionally been the largest export market for B.C. softwood lumber.
Since 2001, NRCan’s Canada Wood Export Program (Canada Wood) has been instrumental in influencing the demand for wood products in the Chinese market.
Due to its low-carbon footprint, energy efficiency and effectiveness at withstanding seismic activity, China is increasingly looking to wood as a construction material of choice.
In April of this year, NRCan hosted a visit by Vice Minister Qiu Baoxing of the Chinese Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD). The purpose of his visit was to gain a first-hand view of Canadian wood-frame construction methods.
MOHURD is responsible for construction projects in China. It has committed to using construction practices that are both energy-efficient and have a low-carbon footprint. As a result, China has increasingly looked towards wood-frame construction to meet growing housing demands while pursuing sustainable building practices.
MOHURD Vice Minister Qiu Visits NRCan
The Vice Minister visited numerous wood-frame buildings while in Québec City. These include the FondAction office building, the soccer stadium at Laval University (construction in progress) and the FPInnovations laboratory.
According to René Samson, Manager for Market Development, the visit by Vice Minister Qiu is the culmination of years of relationship building with MOHURD. “We are pleased that MOHURD plans to further integrate wood products and wood-frame building systems as a key component in the development of sustainable housing,” says René.
NRCan’s continued collaboration with China will allow Canadian wood-frame construction products and expertise to assist in meeting China’s growing needs for sustainable construction materials.
By influencing Chinese residential construction codes, supporting both training initiatives on wood-frame design and demonstration projects utilizing wood-frame construction, Canada Wood continues to raise the profile of Canadian wood products.
For more information on Canadian wood-frame construction projects, visit the NRCan Building with Wood page.
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