The bird flu epidemic and the handful of SARS cases in Beijing negatively influenced the capital city's agriculture and tourism industries in the first half of this year, said Yu Xiuqin, spokeswoman for the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics, on Wednesday.

However, the service sector -- which was hit hard last year by the severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic -- resumed strong growth during the first half of 2004.

Beijing's first-half GDP was 191 billion yuan (US$23 billion), up 15.4 percent compared with the same period last year. Discounting the impact of SARS on the 2003 index, GDP rose 13.3 percent year-on-year.

The service sector climbed 14.2 percent year-on-year, with an added value of 116.8 billion yuan (US$14 billion).

But agricultural output declined as a result of the impact of bird flu on the poultry industry earlier this year. Added value for the first half slipped 3.1 percent year-on-year, to 3.8 billion yuan (US$460 million).

Yu did not provide figures for the tourism industry, although she stated that the SARS threat kept it from recovering "to a satisfying level."

The outlook is bright, however. "The economy of Beijing has entered a new stage of fast development since 2003, with the promotion of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and local residents upgrading consumption," Yu said.

The consumption upgrade, Yu explained, refers to sales of housing, vehicles and other high-ticket items that have a significant impact on the health of Beijing's economy.

Secondary industry -- such traditional sectors as steel and machinery -- saw the highest rate of growth, jumping 18.7 percent in the January-June period to attain an added value of 70.4 billion yuan (US$8.5 billion).

The Beijing municipal government has adopted various administrative and macroeconomic measures to adjust economic development zones, examine fixed-asset investment projects and return order to the land market.

(China Daily July 15, 2004)