Although hosting the Olympics will make it more difficult for Beijing to control inflation, Yu said she was confident the government will be able to keep prices under control.

"Consumer prices will go up during the Olympics, but that's a normal phenomenon. No host country can avoid it," Yu said.

"Food prices are going up and spreading to other sectors and products, plus there's the Olympics factor - we really can't be overly optimistic."

Consumer prices in Beijing were up 6 percent in the first quarter compared to 0.9 percent for the same period last year, driven mainly by soaring food prices.

Yu said she was surprised that hotel room rates had risen only 10 percent on average in the run-up to the Games, much less than she had feared.

Yu said the Olympics had contributed an average of less than 1.7 percentage points to the city's annual economic growth over the seven years since it won the bid.

She said she did not expect Beijing's economy to see a big slowdown after the Olympics, in part because there were plans in hand to start construction on 11 satellite cities.

"This will not only help boost investment, it will also draw people to the city and stimulate consumption," she said.

(China Daily, Agencies April 18, 2008)