Zero carbon buildings graced the inaugural expo held at the National Convention & Exhibition Center (Tianjin) from June 24 to 27.

The China Building Science Conference and Green Intelligent Building Expo saw featured products and services from some 500 domestic and foreign providers across the entire chain of building industries, exhibition products, materials and applications with innovative, conservation-savvy and eco-friendly components.

The exhibition took place in the first phase of the center with an indoor area of 200,000 square meters and hosted 150,000 visitors over the four-day event.

A 400-sq-m zero-carbon building, the largest of its kind at the expo, was set up by China State Construction. It attracted numerous visitors thanks to the immersive and interactive experience offered by the company.

Wang Bo, a marketing director at China Construction Science& Technology Group Co Ltd, said the building aimed to offer visitors firsthand experience in complete chains of zero carbon dioxide emissions－including for household utilities.

Another zero carbon edifice highlighted at the event was exhibited at the United Kingdom exhibition hall, which was made by ZEDfactory, a company committed to zero-carbon design and development.

The company inked a memorandum of understanding with the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design during the expo.

ZEDfactory said it looks to expand its presence in low-carbon building markets amid China's move to reach its targets of peaking its carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.

Deputy to Her Majesty's Trade Commissioner for China Tom Duke said: "We expect to introduce more of our technologies in achieving UK's Net Zero target in 2050 to China. The two countries could work closely in the future to mitigate global warming and boost bilateral trade."

Duke added that the UK's advantages in green building design and management could also benefit China's move toward its carbon reduction targets.

Other countries have also shown their eagerness to tap into market potential in low-carbon building industries in China.

Bernardino Regazzoni, Swiss ambassador to China, said via video at the opening ceremony that Switzerland expects to join hands with net-zero energy building sector, and participate in formulating standards for such buildings in China.

He said the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland signed an MOU with China's Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development last year to boost energy-saving buildings, because Switzerland "shares the same vision with China in its move to reduce carbon dioxide, and expects to support its move in model zero energy emissions".

Li Rusheng, chief engineer at the ministry, said "a new era of green building is coming as green buildings could lay a solid foundation for the country to achieve its dual targets in carbon dioxide emissions".

According to a report released by the China Association of Building Energy Efficiency in 2020, carbon dioxide emissions in the construction sector accounted for a half of the country's total in 2018 and the figure is decreasing gradually.

The new National Convention &Exhibition Center (Tianjin), which involved a hefty investment of 18 billion yuan ($2.79 billion), plans to cover 1.38 million sq m, with its total indoor and outdoor exhibition space hitting 550,000 sq m after its second phase is completed in 2022.

Only beginning its construction in March 2019, the rapid completion of the first phase and the opening of the first expo indicates "Chinese speed" amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The center is expected to become one of the largest in the world, after the second phase is completed next year, according to Jinyun, a local news app.

It is the third State-level modern pavilion for the Ministry of Commerce to stage exhibitions, joining venues for the Canton Fair in Guangzhou, Guangdong province and the China International Import Expo in Shanghai.

"The new exhibition center was built by China State Construction, involving 86 state-of-the-art technologies in green buildings. It's projected that the exhibition center will slash sulfur dioxide emissions of 400 tons and carbon dioxide emissions of up to 10,000 tons annually," said Wang of China Construction Science& Technology Group Co Ltd.