China.org.cn | September 13, 2024
CCTV:
As people's lives become more diverse, their expectations for housing have also increased. The MHURD has repeatedly emphasized that the public should live in better homes. My question is: what considerations and plans do you have for creating good housing in the next phase? Thank you.
Ni Hong:
Thank you for your question. I believe everyone is concerned about good housing. I share this concern personally, as I also want to live in a good home. I would like to address this question from three perspectives.
First, why should we build good housing? Second, what defines good housing? Third, how do we build good housing?
First, why should we build good housing? The CPC's founding mission is to sought happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation. The simplest and most basic understanding of happiness is living and working in peace and contentment. To achieve this, good housing is essential. Providing good housing for the people is required for fulfilling our Party's mission. Second, our reforms and development efforts ultimately aim to improve people's lives. Housing development in our country has now entered a new phase, shifting from simply providing housing to focusing on the quality of housing. As I mentioned in the opening remarks, the average urban housing area now exceeds 40 square meters per person, and people have new expectations for the functionality and quality of their homes. Therefore, we should apply new-generation information technologies, green low-carbon technologies and innovative construction techniques as well as new products and materials to housing development. We should guide the real estate and construction industries to prioritize quality, new technologies and better services over speed and quantity, enabling a true transformation of these industries. The Party Central Committee has made requirements, and the people have their expectations, so the MHURD must take action.
Second, what defines good housing? This is a matter of personal perspective and varies from person to person. With socioeconomic development, advancements in technology and changes in people's needs, the concept of good housing is continuously evolving. Different eras have different definitions of good housing, and even with various sizes and price ranges, there are diverse interpretations of what makes a good house. Everyone has their own idea of what constitutes a good home. However, I believe there are four key characteristics:
First is being green, which means ensuring that people live in healthy environments. This involves several aspects closely related to living conditions, such as room height, indoor temperature, humidity, air quality and lighting, all of which impact physical and mental health. Therefore, a good home should provide comfort, which requires careful design and construction, including proper sealing of doors and windows and effective soundproofing of walls. Recently, the MHURD sought public input on housing requirements. Soundproofing was ranked first, followed by preventing odors in bathrooms and leaks and cracks. Building a good home means addressing these concerns.
Second is being low-carbon, which means saving money for residents and conserving energy for society. How can we save money? In the construction sector, there are three stages: the production of building materials, the construction process and the full lifecycle utilization process, all of which involve energy and carbon consumption. A good house should be of high quality, perform well and have a long lifespan. Additionally, throughout its lifecycle, it should be more efficient in saving water, electricity, gas and energy, thus reducing costs and expenses for residents while also contributing to the conservation of energy and reduction of carbon for society.
The third feature is smart, bringing greater convenience to residents. With electric vehicles now being highly digitized and serving as mobile terminals, we envision "good houses" as larger non-mobile smart terminals, encompassing numerous application scenarios. For example, smart sensing technologies can monitor and adjust indoor conditions such as temperature, brightness, humidity and air quality based on specific needs. Furthermore, intelligent control allows for hands-free operation of doors, windows, lights, air conditioning and other household appliances through voice commands or sensors. Smart appliances, like smart refrigerators, will in the future notify us of low food supplies, reminding us to purchase essentials like eggs on our way home from work. Such systems can also alert residents about expired food. Therefore, I am confident that there are no limits to what we can accomplish. Consequently, in the construction of "good houses," we have allocated substantial space for technological innovation.
The fourth feature is safety, ensuring residents can live with peace of mind. This encompasses several aspects: structural integrity of buildings, designed to be robust and disaster-resistant; operational safety of utilities and systems, where sensors on water, electricity, gas and heating systems, including elevators, are installed to trigger alerts during faults or emergencies; and personal security of residents, where smart interconnected systems can detect unusual activities, ensuring the elderly and children enjoy enhanced safety while at home.
The concept of the "good house" still needs further innovations and adjustments through practice. As such, we invite all areas of society and friends from the media to make contributions and jointly explore ways to promote the construction of better houses.
Third, how do we build "good houses"? This task represents a systematic project, a novel application scenario and an emerging industry that could potentially establish a new competitive arena. These endeavors are not only crucial for satisfying people's living requirements, but are also instrumental in boosting domestic demand and ensuring economic stability through concentrated efforts in the following five main areas:
First, "good houses" must adhere to exemplary standards. We must refine our standards framework, enhancing criteria across designs, materials, construction and equipment. This includes improving standards for accessibility, senior-friendly features and smart technologies.
Second, "good houses" must be well designed. We will direct designers to carefully craft each structure, ensuring optimal utility and value for every square meter of houses.
Third, "good houses" require top-quality materials. We are committed to promoting the research and application of innovative materials, extensively developing eco-friendly construction materials, and consistently improving the performance of building materials in areas such as thermal insulation, heat shielding, waterproofing and environmental protection.
Fourth, "good houses" need excellent construction practices. We will intensify our application of technology, advocating for modern construction methods such as green and intelligent building techniques, aspiring to construct "good houses" with the precision and quality used in automobile manufacturing.
Fifth, "good houses" must have good services. We will advance residential services, significantly improving property management, and bolstering both online and offline support for services including elder care, child care and domestic help.
Our goal for new constructions is to create "good houses," whereas for existing structures, we plan to transform them into "good houses" through urban renewal initiatives.
After establishing "good houses," our broader vision extends to creating "good neighborhoods, good communities and good urban districts," to ensure that citizens live in greater comfort and peace of mind. Thank you.