A Chinese economist has said that the economy will continue to grow after the Beijing Olympics.

“Personally I feel very optimistic that the Chinese economy after the Beijing Olympics will continue to grow rapidly and healthily…. I am full of confidence over the economy after the Olympics,” said Fan Gang, director of the National Economic Research Institute at the China Reform Foundation.

Construction of new office and apartment buildings continues to go on and not all projects are related to the Olympics. China is also such a big country that Olympic construction is only a small percentage of the whole economy.

“China is a big country. Beijing is small…. Even if Beijing’s investment in infrastructure drop sharply after the Games, it would not have a significant impact on the whole economy,” he said.