The China International Wood-Forestry Fair will be held at the National Agriculture Exhibition Centre in Beijing on May 23-26.
The organisers say that because of the rapid development of China’s economy and the fact that Beijing is holding the 2008 Olympics, the country is moving ahead with large scale construction including 12 Olympic gyms and one Olympic centre.
The Chinese government is also investing US$20.8bn in the country’s infrastructure. Nearly 5,000 hotels and restaurants need refurbishing and parks and markets need upgrading. There are also plans to build around four million apartments a year.
Meanwhile harvesting from China’s natural forests is to be greatly reduced to ensure healthy development. This means a large quantity of imported timber will be needed to supplement the shortage and China said this represents a great opportunity for foreign timber firms to enter its market.
