Beijing expected to seize Olympic opportunity: Chinese top advisor

The Olympic Games will constitute impetus for Beijing's development and the capital city should seize the opportunity, said leader of China's top political advisory body on Sunday.

Noting that the preparation work for the 29th Summer Olympic Games has entered a crucial stage, Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), told a panel of national legislators from Beijing that the city must be fully prepared to stage a great event in 2008.

The opportunity the Games to Beijing will play as a great driver for the city's development in the next five years, Jia, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said.

With such a favorable environment, Beijing should put its advantage in technology and human resources into full play to boost its economic and social development, he said.

The Fourth Session of the Tenth National People's Congress, China's top legislature, opened in Beijing on Sunday morning with the presence of more than 2,900 deputies.

Jia joined the Beijing delegation to discuss Premier Wen Jiabao 's report on the work of the government delivered at the NPC annual session's opening ceremony.

Source: Xinhua