Beijing's latest showpiece adds grandeur to the city's skyline

The tallest building in Beijing opened for business yesterday, forming the centrepiece of the capital's central business district.

The 330-metre, 81-storey main tower of the China World Trade Centre Phase Three complex is decorated with 24-carat gold foil on the lobby walls and is supported by a special structure to prevent it from collapsing if struck by an aircraft.

Sitting at the heart of the business district - a thicket of towers sprouting up between international hotels and the diplomatic enclave - the new tower marks a milestone in Beijing's efforts to create a skyline as memorable as Manhattan or Hong Kong.

'It is a new beginning, beckoning a fresh round of development in the capital,' said Ji Lin, a deputy mayor of Beijing.

The project not only acts as a symbol of the city's economic growth, but also the country's wish to improve its foreign investment environment, officials said.

'The World Trade Centre is a Beijing landmark - it has witnessed the capital's evolution to a cosmopolitan city over the past 25 years. The opening of a new tower today symbolises a new era and a great future for the city,' Vice-Minister of Commerce Liao Xiaoqi said.

The World Trade Centre was once the nation's largest joint-venture property project. Phase One opened after the 1989 pro-democracy protest and became a symbol of foreign investors' confidence in China as well as the government's commitment to reform and openness policies, amid uncertainty over the country's future development following the Tiananmen Square crackdown.