Beijing faces clean air problem

Major obstacles remain if Beijing is to bring air pollution under control, its mayor has warned, while admitting the city fell short of last year's target.

Speaking at the opening of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress on Friday, Wang Anshun said pollution and a growing population were among the most pressing problems to be solved - exactly what he said at the same meeting last year.

The average concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) - the pollutants considered the most dangerous to health - fell by 4 per cent last year, short of the 5 per cent reduction target, he said.

The city's gross regional product (GRP) grew 7.3 per cent last year compared with 2013. The per capita income of urban and rural residents increased in real terms by 7.2 per cent and 8.6 per cent. The capital's target for GRP growth this year is 7 per cent.