Why am I in China? Because the Chinese government asked the UK Chartered Institute of Building to give it a hand. So, Wimpey chief Joe Dwyer, Stuart Henderson of Parkman International, former construction minister Tony Baldry MP and myself came to say hello. The People’s Republic of China will be 50 years old very soon and in the past 10 years, the nation has moved towards a more open, international outlook. China is now yours for visiting and, more important, for doing business in – construction business.
The Chinese accept that the West has some fixed views about trade – even if they are only just learning how to fathom them. For example, we place great faith in something called law – more particularly, law of contract. So, this week the People’s Congress decided that henceforth the “rule of law” will apply in China. Previously, various folk ruled “at will”. You can imagine that idea being something of a nuisance, since some official somewhere would literally lay down the law. Then again, while I was here, the Ministry of Construction announced that standard form building contracts would be used to regulate the contractual relationship in building works. That is a huge move. The reason is that “contract”, contractual liability and remedies in contract didn’t figure in their thinking. That’s because there was only one customer. All building projects large and small were financed by the government. The engineering and architectural design, the construction, the specialist construction and supply were done by the government or its subsidiaries. No one in construction took any economic responsibility for any project. The entire enterprise was a state investment and the state was responsible. Decisions, whether important or trivial, were made by central government. Can you imagine the problems all that caused? The West only understands a system of agreeing a contractual bargain and finding a way of ensuring the other bloke keeps his promises. It’s not a bad system, but it does need the support of a legal system.
The major shifts in this country include not only a welcome to the West but also open trading, a massive reduction in central government influence, a mix of public and private money, much more free enterprise, and the use of contract.
On a practical level, their worries are about engineering errors. I was asked several times, who checked the architect’s or engineer’s designs in the UK? They weren’t just talking about building inspection; they were talking about looking over the shoulder of the bloke who decides what the specification will be.
This week, the People’s Congress decided that henceforth the “rule of law” will apply in China
Puzzled, I asked why. Apparently, the engineering decisions on some roads, bridges and dams have led to poor-quality structures. In January, a bridge collapsed and 40 were killed. Two died on another expressway bridge mess up. There are opportunities here for UK engineers and architects to do some business.
We visited the new £800m Beijing Airport Terminal due to finish in July. Signs of joint enterprise with the West cropped up. The huge roof was a Chinese/Australian undertaking and the mechanical engineering was a Chinese/US joint venture. I spotted wall panelling from Europe and Hunter Douglas ceiling material. The boss of the site welcomed our nosing around, invited our questions about subcontracting, about programming and about changes of mind.
Then we went to lunch. The Chinese love saying “cheers”. It means drink it all back in one go. I tried it with rice wine, with Chinese beer, with Chinese schnapps. That’s when all that scaffolding came to mind. I needed some to support me back to the ministry’s car. The Great Wall is breached and the Chinese did it themselves. See you in Shanghai.
Postscript
Tony Bingham is a barrister and arbitrator specialising in construction.
