The China National Federation of Textile Industry and the Beijing municipal government are making joint efforts to turn Beijing into a fashion center on par with Paris, Milan, London, New York and Tokyo, a government source announced Wednesday.

The local municipal government is striving to set up centers for fashion design, exhibitions, public relations, garment production and top brands, according to a building plan unveiled Wednesday.

The eight-hectare fashion design center is located at the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone at Yizhuang of Daxing District in southern Beijing. Work on the fashion design building is expected to finish in May and open within the year. It will house 200 computer assistant design (CAD) workshops, said Cheng Lianyuan, director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau for Promoting Industry, on Thursday.

The city will raise funds for building six garment production centers in outskirtan counties such as Pinggu, Miyun, Shunyi and Yanqing.

Construction on some fashion show centers are underway. The New China International Exhibition Center is expected to open in 2006. Construction on the Beijing International Light Textile Trading Center will begin soon.