Even as its economy surged in recent years, Beijing, China’s capital, still lagged behind business centers like Shanghai and Guangzhou in commercial development. Roads and public transit were outmoded, developers said, and companies that wanted to expand there had limited options for office or retail space.

But with the Olympic Games as a catalyst, government authorities undertook a vast makeover of the city. Since its selection in 2001 as the host city, it has poured $40 billion into infrastructure projects and Olympics venues while encouraging the development of glittering office, hotel and retail centers. Entire neighbourhoods are being renovated. In 2007, four new shopping centers added nearly 1.2 million square feet of retail space, office space expanded by more than 14 million square feet, and 2,500 new hotel rooms came onto the market, according to Jones Lang LaSalle, a real estate services and money management company.

And that was just last year. In 2008, an additional 11 shopping centers totalling more than 11 million square feet are scheduled to open, along with 15 million square feet of office space and more than 11,000 hotel rooms, Jones Lang LaSalle said. With the new supply of high-quality real estate, more American companies have been heading into Beijing, seeking to expand their presence in one of the world’s fastest-growing markets. A less-stringent regulatory environment for business is also helping to clear the path; there are fewer ownership restrictions, for example, for foreign businesses in certain industries. “The city is expanding at such a pace, it’s creating new opportunities every day,” said Edwin Fuller, the president and managing director of international lodging for Marriott International, whose hotel brands include JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Ritz-Carlton and Renaissance Hotels.

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