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Most of the Olympic host cities have suffered economic setbacks after the coveted event. However, Chinese experts rule out any negative bearing on Chinese economy.
According to a report by Morgan Stanley, investment banker, "Of the 11 cases we examined since 1956, only the US (Atlanta) in 1996 did not show a slowdown following the Olympics."
A key factor in post-Olympic economic performance is the size of the country and the share of the economic pie held by the host city, the report said.
That means even if Beijing experience post-Olympic blues, the rest of the country should emerge reltively unscathed since the capital accounts for only 4-5 percent of national GDP.
The rest of China is undergoing a major infrastructural makeover, for example... rehabilitation of southwestern Sichuan province, still reeling under the May 12 earthquake, ambitious plans for nuclear power plants, dams and a new high-speed rail link between Shanghai and Beijing.
Experts also opine that Beijing has been monetarily very restrained with regard to Olympic build-up measures by avoiding spend-now-pay-later cost overruns and offering spectacular new stadiums and infrastructure.
"The Chinese government is clearly eager to put its best face forward when the country is in the international spotlight later this year. However, in doing so, it hasn't thrown its characteristic fiscal prudence to the wind," said a report by Standard & Poor's.
Also, China is quite wary of the delinquent-effect that haunted other host cities, like Athens in 2004, whose Olympic stadiums became redundant after the event. Resultantly, venues in Beijing will be turned to a destination of sports and entertainment facilities, catering to the ever-growing list of its affluent group.
As far as China is concerned, Beijing Olympic is not about economy but global image, according to Ruud Koning, an expert on sports economics at the University of Groningen in The Netherlands.
"The Games in China are not so much an economic event in the sense that the government needs the Games for economic growth. It is more 'opening China to the world," he said.
While some host nations would find it very hard to betray their emotions looking at the potential investment inflows owing to the staging of the event, China has been more concerned about boosting its international image and diplomatic clout.
