More than 100 correspondents from 20 overseas news organizations, including AP and AFP are covering the Ninth Beijing Municipal Party Congress which is now in session. This is the biggest number yet to cover the Beijing party congress, according to staffs at the congress press center.

Since China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Beijing's successful bid for the 2008 Olympic Games, the Chinese capital of Beijing has come to world attention and the municipality's development is considered an important showcase for the world to view changes in the country.

During the congress, Jia Qinglin, secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), summed up the progress Beijing has made over the last five years and said the target for the next five years is to reach the goal of the per-capita gross domestic product (GDP) of US$6,000 annually.

Wang Hui with the Beijing Municipal Office for Overseas Publicity said: "the distance between Beijing and the world and its markets is narrowing."

Correspondents from overseas are interested in such issues as the city's GDP growth, urban development and efforts to preserve part of its unique features as an ancient city as well as preparatory work now under way for the Olympic Games, Wang noted.

Moreover, Wang added, the overseas correspondents are provided with easy access to their coverage of the congress with numerous closed-door discussion sessions open to them.

(Xinhua News Agency May 20, 2002)