The agreement marks an important step in beefing up the construction of wood frame houses in both the city and country.

"China is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and has enormous potential as a new market for BC lumber," said Gordon Campbell, premier of British Columbia.

The latest market survey showed that wood villas are close to extinction.

Shanghai enjoys only 102 wood villas, and the total number of such villas in China is less than 1,000, said Robin Lu, assistant director of the Canada Wood Bureau.

Local experts believe that the wood villa market will be very promising. So far, 80 percent of the property projects in Shanghai are focused on villas.

But the experts said those projects alone will not satisfy the market demand in Shanghai.

On average, the rent of a wood villa whose area is 300 square metres surpasses US$10,000 every month.

"We are being squeezed by the enormous market demand," Lu said. "It is high time we developed the new market with Chinese partners."

Although a large number of Chinese builders and developers want to build wood frame homes, they have been held back by a lack of technical guidance and practical know-how.

According to the construction sector of the Canadian Consulate in Shanghai, no building regulations exist for the wood house industry in China.

But that is starting to change.

"Our British Columbia team intends to work closely with partners here to ensure that wood buildings meet consistent levels of construction quality and satisfy consumers and key service providers," Campbell said.

Shanghai officials said the signing of the three MOUs will help set up standards for wood frame construction and establish close ties between construction professionals in Shanghai and their Canadian counterparts.

The Chinese MOU partners include the Shanghai Construction Management Commission and Shanghai Tongji University.

(China Daily November 5, 2001)