Beijing is ready for the three-day Fortune Global Forum scheduled to open on May 16, said Wang Qishan, the city's mayor.

"The economic summit will inject new thoughts and energy in the development of the ancient capital city," Wang said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

This year's forum, the ninth, is the third one held in China, with two previous sessions in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

"China's continued story of growth brought Fortune back again and Beijing's great progress achieved by 15 million hard-working citizens made it stand out to host this year's forum," said Wang.

The forum will be broadcast live, giving audiences from around the world the chance to see Beijing's splendid ancient architect and culture, as well as its modern development.

Wang said that the city's experience accumulated from hosting this year's Fortune Global Forum will make it better prepared for the 2008 Olympic Games.

The sports luminaries who will speak at 2005 Fortune Global Forum sports roundtable will also help China look at the future direction of sports as a business in the country, he said.

"The friendly Beijing citizens are ready to greet guests from afar," said Wang.

The annual forum, initiated by US-based Fortune magazine in 1995, is a summit dialogue between economists and entrepreneurs from around the globe.

Nearly 1,000 business elite, including CEOs, chairpersons and presidents from companies such as Wal-Mart, Morgan-Stanley and the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp. will attend the upcoming session.

(Xinhua News Agency May 16, 2005)