Beijing’s Big Build-Up: A City-Wide Inspection to Save its Real Estate Market

Beijing is hitting the reset button on its urban landscape. The city is launching a sweeping inspection of nearly all its buildings, a move that feels like a city-wide health check. As China’s real estate sector navigates a turbulent period, this initiative is a significant step toward reassuring residents and stabilizing the property market. Let’s explore what this ambitious campaign entails.

The Foundation of the Matter: Why This, Why Now?

To grasp the urgency behind Beijing’s new focus on ruler-straight walls, we have to look at the recent past. For years, the China real estate market was booming. Developers borrowed heavily, constructing apartment buildings at a dizzying pace. But when the government tightened lending, real estate giants like Evergrande began to falter, leaving many with keys to non-existent apartments and a deep sense of distrust.

This crisis brought back the alarming term “tofu-dreg construction,” referring to buildings with the structural integrity of soft tofu. Suddenly, residents began to question the safety of their homes. This widespread concern has prompted the government to prioritize building safety and human well-being over rapid construction. The new inspection campaign is a clear message: the government is listening, and your home should not sway in the wind.

More Than a Makeover: The Two-Pronged Approach to Safety

This campaign is about more than just surface-level fixes; it has two primary goals: enhancing structural and social safety.

Structural Integrity: A City-Wide Health Check

Engineers will be meticulously examining buildings for:

• Stable Foundations: Ensuring buildings are not sinking.
• Quality Materials: Verifying that the concrete and other materials meet safety standards.
• Code Compliance: Making sure that buildings were constructed according to the approved plans, and not from a subpar design.

After decades of rapid urbanization, this focus on quality control is a necessary and welcome change for the real estate industry.

Social Safety: A Technological Solution

The campaign also aims to use technology to make public housing safer and more equitable. Beijing has been addressing the issue of illegal subletting in subsidized public housing by rolling out smart locks with facial recognition. This technology ensures that the person living in the apartment is the one who is supposed to be there. This new campaign will expand the use of this tech, aiming to reduce crime and create a more secure living environment.

The Bigger Picture: A New Era for China?

This campaign is a strong signal of China’s shifting priorities. President Xi Jinping’s “common prosperity” initiative is focused on equitable wealth distribution, and providing safe housing is a core part of that vision. It’s a move to ensure that everyone benefits from economic growth, not just a select few.

For the struggling property market, this could be a turning point. By demonstrating a commitment to quality and building safety, the government may be able to restore public confidence and prevent a further downturn in the real estate sector.

What This Means for Beijing Residents

While the thought of inspectors examining your home might be unsettling, the long-term benefit of knowing your building is structurally sound is invaluable. For those on the public housing waiting list, this crackdown on illegal subletting could finally open up homes for those who need them most, leading to a fairer and more just city.