Over the next year, many Westerners will be learning a lot about a country they know little about: China.

That’s because Beijing will be hosting the 2008 Summer Olympic Games and plans to use the world’s highest-profile sporting event to showcase the economic, financial and environmental progress it has made over the past 25 years.

There’s no surprise that Beijing and the rest of China are taking a “money is no object” approach to prepare for the games. What will surprise you is where Western investors will profit the most.

New Investment in One of the World’s Oldest Countries

Every major city in China, whether directly involved in the Olympics or not, is spending big-time to showcase the “New China” to the rest of the world. When all is said and done, China will have spent at least three times what Athens spent just four years ago.

The capital city of Beijing alone plans to spend at least $23 billion on new Olympic construction and upgrades to its infrastructure ranging from expanding airports to cleaning up the environment.

To give you an idea of how big those numbers are: Athens, the host of the 2004 summer games, spent a total of $10 billion on the games (including budget overruns needed for security). China is spending $8 billion on the port city of Qingdao for various projects including new ports, highways, hospitals, stadiums and environmental upgrades—and that’s just to showcase the sailing regattas!

As the Opening Ceremonies get closer, economists are estimating that the Beijing 2008 Olympics will generate more than $35 billion in increased consumer spending and will serve as a long-term economic catalyst for accelerating international consumer spending.

Not All Olympic Opportunities Are Created Equal

However, Robert Hsu, president of Absolute Return Capital Advisors LLC., and the editor of China Strategy cautions American investors that not all China investment opportunities are created equal. In fact, he takes a strict “boots on the ground” approach to investing in Asia, and makes frequent trips to China to investigate economic growth and emerging investment opportunities. What captured his attention after his last trip wasn’t just the investment opportunities surrounding future Olympic sponsors—but also the incredible economic opportunities popping up across the entire country.

Hsu is absolutely convinced that the economic growth indirectly related to the 2008 Olympic Games is where Western investors stand to profit most. In fact, he’s banking on the fact that the recent Chinese construction boom will continue to bring significant economic benefits years after the Olympic flame is extinguished.

Take real estate prices in Qingdao, for instance: They rose more than 10% last year, largely because of the Olympics effect. Beijing property prices also shot up sharply in the past two years, despite government efforts to keep them in check. Tens of billions in paper real estate wealth have already been created as a result of the upcoming Olympics.

As this communist country modernizes and shifts to a market-driven economy, Hsu advises his investors to consider the entire economic expansion that the 2008 Summer Olympic Games has launched—from travel and tourism—to construction and real estate. He truly believes the economic opportunities recently created by China to prepare for the Summer Olympic Games represents one of the best investment opportunities in our lifetime.