When General Electric Co. paid nearly $200 million in 2003 to become an Olympic sponsor for the first time, it had even bigger gold in mind: the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing.

The hefty sponsorship fee covered four Olympic Games through 2012, but GE was particularly interested in playing a role in Beijing. The Fairfield, Conn., conglomerate sees the Games as an opportunity to showcase its technology and products — from water filtration to lighting and security systems — in China's big, rapidly growing economy.

GE is just one of a pack of global giants — some Olympic sponsors and some not — hoping to tap an Olympics-related building boom to bolster business in China. Siemens AG and United Technologies Corp. also view the Olympics as a great chance to forge new relationships with key Chinese business and government figures.

China is expected to spend at least $400 billion through 2010 building airports, roads, water systems and other public-works projects for its 1.3 billion people. Beijing, for example, expects to spend almost $40 billion by the 2008 Summer Games on new stadiums, subways and a new airport terminal. That is more than three times Athens' estimated $12 billion infrastructure tab for the 2004 Olympics. Beyond the Olympics, Shanghai is expected to spend about $41 billion to prepare for the 2010 World Expo. And Guangzhou plans to spend around $27 billion for the 2010 Asian Games.

"It's way beyond Beijing," says Peter van Gend, who runs the Siemens group that pursues business connected to big events such as the World Cup and the Olympics. China is investing not just "for the three weeks (of the Olympics) but also (in) long-lasting elements of infrastructure."

Non-Chinese companies face hurdles, however. Many Olympic-related projects such as sports stadiums are being built by private and state-owned enterprises, making the bidding process nearly as competitive as the Games themselves. Foreign business leaders say learning about contract opportunities is often difficult. The jobs are often advertised on obscure Web sites or in newspapers, and companies are given short notice, leaving them little time to prepare their bids.

"For European companies, it has been very tough to participate," says the European Chamber of Commerce's Gilbert Van Kerckhove. For example, he says, due to complicated Chinese regulations, it is "extremely difficult, almost impossible" for foreign construction firms to operate, even through joint ventures with local partners.