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Olympics help fuel Beijing's economic growth

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-01-25 10:26

The Beijing Olympics and Paralympics helped fuel the Chinese capital's economic growth last year despite a global slowdown, the municipal bureau of statistics said Saturday.

The bureau said Beijing's gross domestic product (GDP) totaled 1,048.8 billion yuan (about $153 billion) last year, up 9 percent over 2007.

The bureau's spokeswoman Yu Xiuqin voiced satisfaction with the growth rate, despite a significant drop from the average 12.4 percent posted between 2002 and 2007.

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"Beijing maintained considerably fast economic growth last year despite the impact of the global financial crisis and several natural disasters at home," Yu told Xinhua in an interview.

She said the growth was mainly propped by investment as well as consumption, which totaled 390 billion yuan and 459 billion yuan respectively last year.

The Beijing Olympics and Paralympics were important catalysts in Beijing's economic growth, said Yu.

An annual report issued by the municipal academy of social sciences last week indicated the Games' effect would continue to benefit Beijing's economy in the years to come, as the "legacies" -- facilities, infrastructure and international reputation -- will ensure the sustainable development of the service industry.

Last year, the service sector contributed to 73.2 percent of Beijing's GDP, said Zhang Gong, chief of the Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission.

Last year, 11 Chinese provincial regions topped 1,000 billion yuan in GDP, including Beijing, Shanghai and the provinces of Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong, Zhejiang, Henan, Hebei, Liaoning and Sichuan.