The biggest legacy of the Olympic Games for China is the promotion of the country's long-standing and sustainable development, a leading UN official said on Friday.

For the past eight years, China has made great efforts to prepare Beijing and other cities for a world-class Olympics with an emphasis on environmental sustainability, and the public awareness of environmental protection is growing with it.

"The next focus of China is to further promote the concept of Green Olympics and finally realize the goal of making a Green China,"said Malik, who also showed appreciation for China's efforts to make a smoking-free Olympics.

China's changes brought by the Games should be evaluated by the eight Millennium Development Goals by 2015, said Khalid Malik, the UN Resident Coordinator in China.

He also noted that the Games had played an important role in boosting gender equality and helping women to get rid of poverty.

He cited Chinese Weightlifter Chen Xiexia of women's 48kg class as an example.

Chen, who won the first gold medal for China at the Beijing Olympics, grew up in a poor rural area, but she finally became the world champion with the support of All-China Women's Federation.

Malik said the spirit of Olympic volunteerism is also one of the legacies.

"Their work demonstrated the spirit of humanity, and that's what the Olympics legacy really is," He said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 15, 2008)