Siemens, Motorola, Amway and other 13 international companies donated 1.05 million yuan (149,990 U.S. dollars) Friday to support tree planting in Beijing, said the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on its website.

Ma Xiuhong, vice minister of the MOC, said this showed those international companies' efforts to support the Olympic Games and public services in tangible ways and also embodied their corporate social responsibilities.

Ma added that Beijing embraces the Green Olympics concept, and the country is adhering to environmental protection and energy saving guidelines in the preparations for the Games.

Friday's gifts bring the total donations for tree planting in the Chinese capital to 5.11 million yuan.

Official figures showed that 168 million trees were planted in the 1981-2007 period in Beijing.

(Xinhua News Agency May 10, 2008)