On May 18, 2012, the Japan-China Association for Building and Housing Industry signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the China Real Estate Association in Beijing on the occasion of the Japan-China Housing Industry Conference hosted by the Japanese association in the People's Republic of China. The signing took place in the presence of Naoyoshi Sato, Vice-Minister for Engineering Affairs of Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), and Vice Minister Qi Ji of China's Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, an organization set up under the supervision of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development to help promote the development of real estate in China and raise the quality level of Chinese housing. The MOU consisted of a statement of intention to cooperate in construction under the Japan-China Model Housing Project.

In the Chinese real estate market, under its 12th 5-year plan, the Chinese government is currently promoting the industrialization of housing construction and the raising of housing quality levels. With this statement, the two associations have signaled their intention to put Japanese construction technology to use in the Chinese market and to push forward with a project that is expected become a model case for the supply of housing to the market. The project will include the construction of model housing units, their display to the public, and the development of a residential area.

According to the MOU, the Japan-China Association for Building and Housing Industry will serve as the contact point for the Japanese side and, with the support of governmental organizations, including the MLIT, 73 companies and organizations will participate in planning work. On the Chinese side, the contact point will be the Industrial Cooperation Professional Committee  of the China Real Estate Association, and the project will be undertaken jointly with the Japanese side, with support provided by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and other related government bodies.

This MOU opens the way for the further application within China of Japan's cutting-edge technology and know-how in construction control.

About Japan-China Association for Building and Housing Industry

The association was established in February 1985 with the goal of bringing together Japanese and Chinese companies in the fields of building construction, housing construction, construction materials, and equipment and facilities for homes and other buildings so as to promote exchange between the two countries in the fields of housing and non-housing construction.

The association operates with the support of MLIT and other government agencies. Together with its member companies and organizations, it acts as an intermediary for exchanges between private-sector enterprises in Japan and China. It is headed by Chairman Takeo Higuchi and based in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo.

The Japan-China Association for Building and Housing Industry China Visiting Group, headed by Chairman Higuchi, was recently formed. From May 16 to 19 the Group toured the northeast Chinese city of Dalian, following which they attended the above-described conference in Beijing, and also hosted associated business networking events.