With approximately 3,000 workers on site every day, constant supervision and leadership has been a key component over the course of the project. AmCham White Paper AmCham-China's 2001 White Paper on American Business in China notes that the Chinese government recognizes the great importance of the construction industry, while also acknowledging the severe constraints on the industry. The government has introduced some measures to improve construction quality and transparency in the bidding process, but improvement is still needed on many levels. Architects and engineers are not allowed to specify products by name in their design, allowing room for inferior products to be used. China's accepted building materials standards are not current with the level of new products being developed.
Foreign partners face severe partnering and bidding restrictions.
For more information on current issues affecting China's construction industry, please refer to our 2001 White Paper. Acknowledging the need for improved techniques and standards in the domestic construction industry, the Chinese government is developing programs to address the issue. Known as the U.S.-China Housing Initiative, the objectives of the project are to showcase design and planning practices from the United States and introduce U.S. construction technologies and products to the Chinese construction industry. The neighborhood, which was designed for middle to lower class families, will also house a community center and a combined elementary and middle school. His design concept was approved in March 2001 and has now entered the stage of production where construction drawings will be rendered with specifications for products and techniques to be used, some of which will be introduced for the first time in China.