VP: Earthquake won't hinder Olympics
29 May 2008
Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping hailed earthquake relief efforts in Sichuan as a "great success" and said Beijing would be ready for to host the Olympics in spite of the disaster, the Wall Street Journal reported. Xi, who is widely tipped to succeed Hu Jintao as president in 2012, made the remarks at an Asia Society conference in Tianjin. It was one of Xi's first appearances before an international audience since being promoted to his current post in March and he took the opportunity to thank the international community for its assistance following the earthquake. He also spoke on the government's drive to encourage more equitable and sustainable economic growth. "Development should be for the people, by the people and the fruits of development should be shared by the people," he said.