In
2005, Beijing's nominal GDP was 681.45 billion RMB (about 84 billion USD),
a year-on-year growth of 11.1% from the previous year. Its GDP per capita
was 44,969 RMB, an increase of 8.1% from the previous year and nearly
twice as much as in 2000. Beijing's primary, secondary, and tertiary industries
were worth 9.77 billion RMB, 210.05 billion RMB, and 461.63 billion RMB.
Urban disposable income per capita was 17,653 yuan, a real increase of
12.9% from the previous year. Per capita pure income of rural residents
was 7,860 RMB, a real increase of 9.6%. Per capita disposable income of
the 20% low-income residents increased 16.7%, 11.4 percentage points higher
than the growth rate of the 20% high-income residents. The Engel's coefficient
of Beijing's urban residents reached 31.8% in 2005 and that of the rural
residents was 32.8%, declining 4.5 percentage points and 3.9 percentage
points, respectively, compared with 2000.
Beijing's
real estate and automobile sectors continue to bloom in recent years.
In 2005, a total of 28.032 million square metres of housing real estate
was sold, for a total of 175.88 billion RMB. The total number of automobiles
registered in Beijing in 2004 was 2,146,000, of which 1,540,000 were privately-owned
(a year-on-year increase of 18.7%). The
Beijing CBD, centered at the Guomao area, has been identified as the city's
new central business district, and is home to a variety of corporate regional
headquarters, shopping malls, and high-end housing. The Beijing Financial
Street, in the Fuxingmen and Fuchengmen area, is a traditional financial
center. The Wangfujing and Xidan areas are major shopping districts. Zhongguancun,
dubbed "China's Silicon Valley", continues to be a major center
in electronics- and computer-related industries, as well as pharmaceuticals-related
research. Meanwhile, Yizhuang, located to the southeast of the urban area,
is becoming a new center in pharmaceuticals, IT, and materials engineering.
[7] Urban Beijing is also known for being a center of pirated goods and
anything from the latest designer clothing to the latest DVDs can be found
in markets all over the city, often marketed to expatriates and international
visitors.
A corner of the emerging Beijing CBD.Major industrial areas include Shijingshan,
located on the western outskirts of the city. Agriculture is carried out
outside the urban area of Beijing, with wheat and maize (corn) being the
main crops. Vegetables are also grown in the regions closer to the urban
area in order to supply the city. Beijing
is increasingly becoming known for its innovative entrepreneurs and high-growth
start-ups. This culture is backed by a large community of both Chinese
and foreign venture capital firms, such as Sequoia Capital, whose head
office in China resides in Chaoyang, Beijing. Though Shanghai is seen
as the economic center of China, this is typically based on the numerous
large corporations based there, rather than as a center for Chinese entrepreneurs.
The development of
Beijing continues to proceed at a rapid pace, and the vast expansion of
Beijing has created a multitude of problems for the city. Beijing is known
for its smog as well as the frequent "power-saving" programs
instituted by the government. Citizens of Beijing as well as tourists
frequently complain about the quality of the water supply and the cost
of the basic services such as electricity and natural gas. The major industrial
areas outside of Beijing were ordered to clean their operations or leave
the Beijing area in an effort to alleviate the smog that covers the city.
Most factories, unable to update, have moved and relocated to other cities
such as Xi'an, China. |
