MOU Signing with the China Real Estate Association
On May 15th, 2020, Forestry Innovation Investment (FII) and Canada Wood (CW) signed a three-party MOU with the China Real Estate Association (CREA). The signing was arranged online with representatives of each organization participating from Beijing, Shanghai and Vancouver. Mr. Feng Jun, President of CREA signed the MOU on behalf of their organization. Mr. Feng has had a long career in real estate, having served at the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD) as Deputy Director General for Real Estate, Director General for Housing Security, and Chief Economist. The Canadian partners were represented by Michael Loseth, President and CEO, FII and Bruce St. John, President, Canada Wood Group. The signing ceremony was arranged as a live broadcast featured on the digital real estate platform Leju.com, receiving over 40,000 views.
CREA is China’s largest real estate association, established in 1985 as a national level industry organization formed by enterprises, institutions, and individuals. Supervised by MOHURD, CREA organizes real estate policy forums, international exchanges, training sessions, and the publication of economic and technical reports. The recent work of CREA has focused on urban renewal, the renovation of old residential communities, and the promotion of prefabrication solutions. For prefabrication, their activity includes educating members on the installation process, developing standards for parts and components, integrating interior decoration, and contributing to the technical standards in China.
Under the framework of this new MOU, FII and CW will work with CREA to support the development of sustainable environmental practices and green building in China’s real estate sector. This includes promoting of the application of modern wood frame construction technology and developing modern wood frame structure buildings that meet China’s market conditions. The organizations will work together to bring delegations to Canada for Chinese real estate developers to engage with Canadian research institutes, forest product producers, wood modular production plants and wood frame structure design and construction enterprises.
FII, CW and CREA will also work together to organize seminars on technology promotion through CREA’s procurement platform and explore vocational education and training with respect to modern wood frame construction technology. The organizations will develop joint research on areas such as cultural tourism, elderly care facilities, development of small towns and rural areas, and opportunities for the application of modern wood construction technology in China. The three partners are in discussion for the possibility of a delegation to Canada for member companies to learn about Canadian innovations with WFC, senior care facilities and other housing applications, once it is appropriate for international travel.
A recording of the MOU signing ceremony can be found at the link below: