China becomes the world's number one building giant

March 3 Morning News According to foreign reports, last year, China invested more than $1 trillion in new construction projects, and the housing boom pushed China to overtake the US for the first time as the world's number one building power. China's construction spending soared during 2010, as demand driven by government stimulus boosted raw materials and labor costs, the Financial Times reported.　　Meanwhile, construction prices in the US fell steadily during the recession and last year the country invested 983 billion dollars in construction projects, down from $1.5 trillion in 2005. "This is a real turning point in the history of construction," said Greheum Robinson, director of global architecture observation. The agency issued the report jointly with PwC and the Oxford economy.　　China's move to overtake Japan as the world's second-largest economy, while winning the world's construction industry, underscores a 10-year trend that has shifted the focus of construction from mature markets such as the US, Japan and Western Europe to China, India and a smaller group of emerging economies. However, China's lead is bound to increase.　　The report predicts that by 2020 China will account for one-fifth of the world's construction industry, up from the current 14%. Housing construction accounted for 57% of China's total construction expenditure last year. Growth in housing construction is expected to slow in the 10-year period, as Beijing tries to stop a housing bubble.　　By contrast, growth is likely to be driven by greater government spending on new projects in railways, roads and power infrastructure. Global construction spending is expected to reach $97.7 trillion trillion over the next decade. Despite China's big head, India will invest heavily, predicting that it will overtake Japan as the world's third-largest building power.