BEIJING, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the city government jointly hosted a banquet for Asian parties' delegates attending the Third International Conference of Asian Political Parties here Saturday.

  Liu Qi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, addressed the banquet.

  Liu extended his congratulations to the opening of the conference and welcomed the guests on behalf of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and the city government, as well as the 14 million people of Beijing.

  Beijing, host city of the Olympic Games 2008 and a famous ancient city of rich culture with a 3,000-year history as a city and an 800-year history as a capital, has witnessed outstanding changes and attracted worldwide attention under the leadership of CPC and the central government, Liu said.

  Revenue of Beijing hit 361 billion yuan (43.7 billion US dollars) and the per capita income reached 3,819 US dollars in 2003, both surged by about 30 times than that over two decades ago when China started the opening-up and reform drive.

  The foreign trade volume of Beijing has amounted to 68.4 billion US dollars last year, Liu said.

  There are over 1.36 million CPC members and over 6,500 grassroots organizations of the CPC in Beijing at present and they are playing important role in the capital's reform, opening-up and modernization drive, Liu said.

  China hopes to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with friends from other countries and will greet those friends with a broader vision, better environment, and warmer service, he said.

  After the banquet, a cultural performance was held in honor of those delegates.

  The three-day Third International Conference of Asian Political Parties opened in Beijing on Sept. 3. Delegates with over 80 parties or political organizations from 34 Asian countries participated the meeting, first of its kind hosted by the CPC. 

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