The preparation work for the 2008 Beijing Olympics is advancing smoothly, said a senior official of the municipal government at the sports round-table meeting of the Ninth Fortune Global Forum in Beijing on Monday.

Liu Jingmin, Beijing's vice mayor and executive vice president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG), said that seven Chinese and foreign companies have become cooperative partners of the Beijing Olympics and 11 others have become global cooperative partners of the International Olympic Committee for financial support to the Games.

Construction of all new venues will start this year, and substantial achievements have been made in the organizing work for matches of the 2008 Olympics and Paralympics, Liu said.

To date, he said, Beijing has established the traffic coordination and control mechanism, and completed plans to ensure security for the Games.

The BOCOG has signed agreements with 88 hotels, which will provide 22,962 hotel rooms and 31 villas for athletes and other participants.
It has also designated 20 hospitals to provide medical services and checks of stimulant drugs, he said.

To promote the Olympic culture, Liu said, that BOCOG has been soliciting good ideas from the whole society about the slogan, mascot, opening ceremony and torch race of the Games.

Beijing has also devoted great efforts to building a technical system for the Games, strengthening financial management, and protecting related intellectual property rights.

The sports round-table meeting of the Fortune Global Forum is specifically targeted at the rapid development of China's sports undertakings and opportunities mushrooming during the process, according to sources with the forum.

(Xinhua News Agency May 16, 2005)