The Beijing municipal government's top priority this year is to maintain "steady and relatively fast" economic development, Mayor Guo Jinlong said on Monday.

Guo made the remarks while delivering a government report at the city's annual legislative session. During last year's meeting, he said the city aimed to achieve "sound and fast" economic development.

At the opening of the session Monday, Guo said the global financial crisis had affected Beijing's economy, with a continuing downturn in the real estate market, mounting pressures for businesses and reduced growth rates in industrial output, exports, fiscal revenues and the economy.

Beijing's service-based economy includes the China headquarters of many multinational headquarters, and the unfolding financial crisis poses "many uncertainties for economic development," according to Guo.

Guo said: "It is a very difficult task to achieve sustainable development of this capital city as serious problems exist among the population, resources and environment."

This year, Beijing aims to maintain growth at 9 percent, the same as the estimated figure for 2008, the official said.

The city intends to keep the registered urban jobless rate below 2.5 percent this year, compared with 1.82 percent for 2008.

If the economy grew 9 percent last year, then the city's GDP would have exceeded 1 trillion yuan (146.2 billion U.S. dollars), making the capital the 10th member of the country's "trillion yuan club," along with Shanghai and the provinces of Guangdong, Jiangsu and others.

The urban per capita disposable income of Beijing grew by 7 percent to 24,725 yuan while the rural per capita net income increased by 6.5 percent to 10,747 yuan last year.

Central government efforts to offset the impact of the financial crisis and the post-Olympics effect will help the city's development, Guo said.

(Xinhua News Agency January 12, 2009)