Beijing Sets Economic Development Target for 2001Beijing will get 270 billion yuan (about US$32.53 billion) in gross domestic product (GDP) this year, up about nine percent from the year of 2000.The economic development goal was disclosed by Shen Baochang, director of Beijing Municipal Development Planning Commission, at the fourth session of the 11th Beijing Municipal People's Congress that opened here Saturday. In his report on last year's implementation of the plan for national economic and social development in Beijing and the draft plan for national economic and social development this year, Shen also briefed lawmakers about this year's growth targets for local revenue, investment for fixed assets, foreign trade, and per capita disposable incomes of urban residents and farmers in the suburban counties. To realize the targets, Beijing will make greater efforts to spur domestic demand this year and build more major projects, with the priority investment being given to urban infrastructure, residential housing, environmental protection and ecological construction, high-tech industries and IT construction projects, said Shen. While making efforts to promote construction of 60 major projects, Beijing will also further lift many restrictions on investment and select a group of profitable infrastructure and public facilities to attract idle investment from the society and overseas, Shen went on. He pledged that greater efforts would be made to expand high- tech industries with Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park as the central area for this, to promote strategic adjustment of economic structure, build more infrastructure with transportation and environmental construction as the emphasis. The director also vowed to get well prepared for China's accession into the World Trade Organization (WTO) this year and open wider to the outside world. Beijing expects to have an actual inflow of 2.5 billion US dollors of overseas investment this year. Beijing chalked up 246.05 billion yuan (about US$29.65 billion) in GDP last year, up 11 percent from 1999. |
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