With the high growth urbanization and increasing new urban population, the huge demand for infrastructures and dwellings has become a great challenge for the sustainable development in Chinese cities. The building sector shares one fourth of total energy consumption in the country and plays an important role in reducing the energy consumption and the consequential greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Some policies have been issued for promoting the low carbon sustainable development in China's buildings.

The white paper puts forward recommendations for the coordinated enhancement of policies, codes, and regulations. It lay out a framework for guidance for the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), and the Review Committees of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for the National Building Code (NBC), to harmonise their actions for healthy affordable housing in urban areas.