China may spend more than US$2 billion on next year’s Summer Olympics, according to officials in the Chinese capital which is hosting the Games. Beijing Vice-Mayor Liu Jingmin explained that the budget has gone up because of the appreciation of the yuan, and the need for enhanced security management.
He also outlined the Chinese capital’s efforts to clean up the environment for the Olympics and beyond. Beijing’s preparations to host the 2008 Summer Olympics have created 600,000 jobs annually since the start of the decade. [Full Text]
[Image: A visitor looks at a sculpture during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Landscape Sculpture Exhibition in Beijing.]