US Time Warner Inc. announced in Beijing on Wednesday that China's capital city would host the Fortune Global Forum 2005 next May.

Robert Friedman, editor-in-chief for the international edition of the Fortune magazine, said that the theme of the annual event would be century of China and new Asia.

It was a decision of foresight, said Beijing deputy mayor ZhangMao at a press conference held Wednesday.

He said the investment market of Beijing would be around 1.5 trillion yuan (180 billion US dollars) in the upcoming years, which meant great business opportunities for companies from all over the world.

It is the third time for the forum staged in China, following Shanghai in 1999 and Hong Kong in 2001.

Source: Xinhua