BEIJING: Average living standards in Beijing improved in 2009, with per capita gross domestic product topping 10,000 dollars for the first time, official data showed yesterday.

The capital’s economy grew 10.1 per cent on-year to 1.19 trillion yuan ($174.3 billion) — exceeding the national GDP growth rate of 8.7 per cent — according to figures published on the Beijing Bureau of Statistics website.

This means per capita GDP for the city’s 17.55 million residents reached 68,788 yuan, or $10,077, the bureau said. “The breakthrough is a milestone for Beijing,” bureau deputy director Yu Xiuqin was quoted by state media as saying.

China’s economy expanded by 8.7 per cent in 2009 after the government went on a four-trillion-yuan spending spree and bank lending nearly doubled from 2008, according to official data released on Thursday.

Average annual disposable income for Beijing’s city dwellers rose 8.1 per cent to $3,915, while for rural residents around the capital, the figure reached $1,755, up 11.5 per cent on the previous year.

Average living standards in Beijing still lag behind those in southern Guangzhou and Shanghai, where per capita GDP reached $11,900 and $10,529 respectively in 2008.