Beijing's party chief said that the economy of the Chinese capital will
not slow down after the 2008 Olympic Games as investment and consumption will
continue to soar.
"There may be less construction in the downtown Beijing, but new construction
will boom in satellite cities after the Games," said Liu Qi, Secretary of the
Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), at the city's
10 the CPC Congress on Friday.
Beijing's per-capita gross domestic product (GDP) will rise to US$10,000
after the Games from the current US$6,000, which will greatly enhance people's
consumption capability, Liu said.
"Neither investment nor consumption will drop, thus the economy of Beijing
will not decline in the post-Olympic period," said Liu.
Some media have reported that a bubble economy is being witnessed in the
Chinese capital which has poured huge investment in real estate and other
Olympic-dependent industries, which will become unnecessary after the Games.
Beijing is also blamed for the lack of renovation spirit, while some of its
state-owned enterprises are still trapped in a sorry plight.
Beijing's GDP grew at an average rate of 12.1 percent over the past five
years. Its GDP totaled 772 billion yuan last year, and GDP per capita was
US$6,210.
In the next five years, the municipal government will strive to score an
average GDP growth rate of nine percent, according to Liu.
The 2008 Olympic Games will also bring great opportunities for the city's
tourism and exhibition industries, said Liu, citing Barcelona, the host city of
the 1992 Olympic Games, whose number of tourists doubled after the Games.
Beijing now attracts about 3.9 million overseas tourists each year.
Liu, also president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic
Games, vowed Beijing will go all out to make the 2008 Summer Olympic Games a big
success.
"The 2008 Summer Olympic Games is a top priority on the government work
agenda for this year and next," he said.