West Meets East -- by Trevor Metz

By 250 News

I desperately wanted to write about the recent BC election but I figure that really isn’t fair. I am a political junky and I followed the issues and the controversies as much as possible from here but I feel like I am just not qualified to publish an educated opinion, so I am going to refrain. As painful as that is to me, I am going to keep my opinions to myself on that issue and talk about something I know a little more intimately.

One of the first things that struck me as odd when I arrived in China was that all the buildings were so poorly built. I am not talking about some mud shanty in the middle of some rice paddy, but brand spanking new high rise construction. I love my apartment because it affords me a gorgeous view of the downtown eastside of Beijing, but I absolutely hate the way it is built. My shower leaks, there iare small cracks in the plaster on the walls, and the baseboards are all cracked and don’t quite fit right. You don’t notice these things when you first walk in, but if you sit there for a while, like I have, the imperfections start jumping out at you. The point I am trying to make is that not only should we be shipping raw materials to China’s exploding housing market, but we should be trying to export our building know how.

Leaky condos have nothing on China. It’s a well known fact that if you don’t watch your contractor and workmen with hawk eyes they will give you shoddy work and use inferior materials. I have had the opportunity to watch Chinese construction in action recently. I used to have a view out both my massive picture window and a side window but right after I moved in they started building a new apartment beside me. The workers start at seven in the morning and quit at seven at night but that isn’t what bothers me. I can’t help but look on in amazement at how crappy their building techniques are. I watched with a gaping mouth as the workers build a wall using bricks and mortar then smashed half of it down to install a beam, then build the wall around it again. It was insane. There are massive gaps around the beam and it doesn’t appear to be sitting flush on top of the bricks. This is common in China. I really shudder at the thought of an earthquake since I live on the 30th floor.

The problem as I see it in bringing over skilled workers and materials is two fold. First of all the Chinese are still very protectionist when it comes to labour. I think you would have to get foreign experts approval and employ huge quantities of Chinese workers. Labour is dirt cheap here so that isn’t a problem, the problem is training. Secondly, Building materials like bricks and mortar are so cheap over here that I doubt many people would even consider using wood because they have to pay international commodity prices. It’s the same reason I am not sure Pacific Western Brewers could sell their beer here.Chinese beer is bad. In fact it’s really bad. But I drink it happily because I pay about 35 cents a can for it in the grocery store. In the price to taste ratio it just makes good sense. Unless PWB markets itself as an exclusive and premium bottle of suds or begins to take advantage of cheap labour by opening a brewery here then I think they will have a hard time breaking into the market.

China is being seen as the land of milk and honey by the rest of the world, and truth be told, I am guilty of dreams of grandeur and self delusion as well. It will take a lot more that just opening shop in Beijing to be successful. BC wood and other products will have to become more affordable or the average income of the average Chinese person is going to have to rise dramatically before they can afford it. While the economic fortunes of the average person are getting better over here, there is still a long, long way to go. I’m not saying we shouldn’t try, I’m just saying as great as the economy is over here, it’s not going to be easy.

-Trevor Metz is a transplanted B.C. Journalist, who is currently working in Beijing

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