Foreigners Back Shanghai's World Expo Bid

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, June 29, 2002

Foreigners Back Shanghai's World Expo Bid

"It was really dramatic in 1992 when Spain simultaneously held the Olympic Games and World Expo in Barcelona and Seville respectively. So we hope that after Beijing winning the 2008 Olympic Games, Shanghai will also succeed in its Expo bid"..

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Shanghai's bid for the 2010 World Expo is gaining support from foreigners working and living in the city.

Eva Liao, trade officer of the economic and commercial office of the Spanish Consulate, said the Expo would open new possibilities for Shanghai.

Spain is cooperating with Shanghai by offering its successful experience of holding a World Expo, especially in receiving and dealing with tourists.

"It was really dramatic in 1992 when Spain simultaneously held the Olympic Games and World Expo in Barcelona and Seville respectively. So we hope that after Beijing winning the 2008 Olympic Games, Shanghai will also succeed in its Expo bid," said Liao.

Liao recalled that few Chinese could speak English and the booths of Chinese enterprises looked simple and crude when she came to Shanghai for an exhibition several years ago.

Now, quite a few Shanghai residents can speak English to some extent and exhibitions are all endowed with advanced scientific technologies.

"Modernity, novelty, comfort, safety and vitality are harmoniously blended in Shanghai," said Liao.

The increasing number of cars has led to traffic congestion in Shanghai. To solve the problem, the city will build 10 new rail lines with a total length of 212 kilometers, increasing the daily passenger transport capacity from 900,000 to 3.2 million people.

In addition, Shanghai's Pudong International Airport will soon start its second phase of construction, which will make it a navigation hub in the Asia-Pacific region.

Miguel A. Velloso, consul general of Argentina, also believes Shanghai is the right city for the 2010 World Expo after Argentina abandoned its bid.

Velloso considered Shanghai competent to hold the exposition after a series of important international conferences, including the APEC meetings and Fortune Forum, helped the city accumulate experience and improve infrastructure and service systems.

"If Shanghai wins the bid, it will be inspiring to all developing countries, since the previous 40 expositions were all held in developed countries," said Velloso.

Shanghai's growth from a small fishing village to today's international metropolis as well as its bid theme -- "Better City,Better Life" -- were both inspiring to other developing countries in terms of city building, Velloso said.

According to the Shanghai bid committee, if successful, China will provide developing countries taking part in the Expo with aid in place rental, design and construction of exhibition halls, exhibit transportation and accommodation for staff.

Velloso also pointed out that the exposition would offer a good opportunity to introduce China to the world.

"Chinese and Argentineans didn't know each other well before. However, in the one and a half years since Argentina established aconsulate in China, we have received 1,500 requests from domestic enterprises for cooperation with Chinese counterparts," said Velloso.

Statistics show that if Shanghai wins the host right of the World Expo 2010, it will attract at least 60 million visitors and direct investment of three billion US dollars.

Other investment in other fields such as traffic, commerce and the reconstruction of old districts will be five to 10 times the cost for holding the expo.

"Professional services in financing, tourism, management and law needed in the World Expo will also bring both domestic and overseas companies great business opportunities," said Velloso.

Presenting the application report to the International Expositions Bureau on January 30, 2002, China was the first country to formally mount its bid. With Argentina out of the running, the final contest will be among China, Russia, the Republic of Korea, Mexico and Poland.

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