Olympic preparations drive economic development in Beijing

The preparatory work for the 2008 Olympic Games has served as a driving force for Beijing's social-economic development, which also provides good conditions for the Olympics, said Lu Yingchuan, vice-director of the Municipal Commission of Development and Reform.

At a press conference on Wednesday, he gave plenty of facts on the city's growth in the 2002-2006 period, which coincided with the preparations for the forthcoming Olympics.

The capital city's gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annual rate of 12.1 percent, 1.3 percent up compared with the 1997-2001 period, and itsper capita incomesurged to 6,210 US dollars, 1.9 times the 2001 level, and two years ahead of the government's goal. This development was achieved through a newgrowth patternfeatured by lower resource consumption and waste emissions, Lu said.

The share ofservice industries, including financing, information, cultural creation, scientific and technological research and development reached 47 percent of the city's GDP for the period and the increase in consumer spending and investment were remarkable features of the demand.

From 2002 to 2006 Beijing spent 283.8 billion yuan (about 36.8 billion US dollars) in infrastructure, including 110 billion yuan (about 15.5 billion US dollars) in transportation, four times the sum of the previous five years.

The Olympic preparations have increased Beijing's international links, resulting in a 3.1 time surge in its trade volume to 158.1 billion US dollars in 2006 and a 49.4 percent rise in its use of foreign investment to 15.1 billion US dollars for the 2002-2006 period. Simultaneously, the city saw one million more overseas tourists.

The "Green Olympic" concept helped the city to improve its environment and make it more beautiful, according to Lu.


Vocabulary:

per capita income：人均收入

growth pattern：增长模型

service industries：服务业