There is still a year left to go until the 2008 Summer Games, but Beijing says construction is almost completed -- a sharp contrast to the last-minute scramble of the Athens Games and an indicator of the heavy importance the Chinese government has placed on the event.

Beijing has built or refurbished a total of 37 stadium venues to host the Games. All except the main National Stadium, or Bird's Nest, will be completed by the end of this year, said Sun Weide, spokesman for the Beijing Organizing Olympic Committee, known as Bocog. "Bocog is on the final stage, and on schedule," said Mr. Sun.

The city has also spent some $13 billion on improving the environment, including increasing the consumption of cleaner energy, planting more trees and relocating factories, though he acknowledged that cleaning up Beijing's polluted environment "is obviously a challenge."

The city also planted close to 28 million trees last year, he said. Targets for reforestation are actually two years ahead of schedule, he said. But in case goals for clean air are not met, the city is also preparing short-term contingency plans during the Games to curb pollution and congestion, he said.

These include limiting the number of cars on the road to possibly as much as a third of the city's cars, creating special driving lanes for competitors and visiting journalists during the event, and scaling down or even closing down factory production in Beijing. Some of these measures will be tested this August as Bocog holds test events and activities to mark the one-year run-up to the Games, said Mr. Sun, declining to elaborate further.

Beijing has just gone through the most polluted June in seven years, underscoring how hard it will be to keep the city clean enough for the gathering of the world's best athletes for next year's Summer Games.

China's leaders are placing a great deal of importance on the Beijing 2008 Olympics, which is envisioned as a way to firmly establish the country as a modern world power and banish any lingering perceptions of it as a nation struggling with decades of political turmoil and poverty. "We want the outside world to know the true China," said Mr. Sun.

Over $40 billion of spending on infrastructure has boosted Beijing's gross domestic product by 12% last year and raised per-capita income to $6,200, compared to the nationwide average of roughly $2,000, according to the Beijing Olympic Committee. The city's economic boom -- in part linked to Olympic spending -- has created 620,000 new jobs each year since 2002, especially in the construction and services sector.

To show it is making progress on issues like press freedom and human rights, China has temporarily lifted some restraints on foreign media. But there have been some setbacks. Recently, for example, a consortium of labor groups accused four Chinese manufacturers making Olympic merchandise of labor violations such as forced overtime and use of underage workers. Beijing Olympic Committee officials say they have investigated the issue and will soon unveil their findings.