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World Expo Will Benefit China
Chinese officials said Thursday that Shanghai's bid to host the World Expo 2010 will promote China's urbanization and economic development.
Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Wang Guangya said yesterday that the expo on improving and growing city life will help China upgrade its cities through international exchanges if it is held in the nation's largest commercial hub.
Development along the Yangtze River also will be helped, Wang said. Shanghai is located at the east end of China's key east-west water course.
China formally submitted its application to host the 2010 event in May. Moscow and South Korea's Yeosu also are bidding, and others may compete. The deadline to submit a bid is November 2.
If Shanghai wins, the 2010 expo will be the first of its kind to be held in a developing country.
"In a broader sense, it will enhance China's reform and opening efforts, and make China closer to the international community," Wang said.
The World Expo, also known as the World's Fair, first was held in London in 1851. It's now considered the Olympics of economic, technological and scientific and cultural shows.
Shanghai Executive Vice-Mayor Chen Liangyu said the 2010 expo, if held in Shanghai, could attract at least 40 million visitors from May 1 to October 31 of that year.
Chen believes Shanghai will be an appropriate setting for the event because the city itself has a lot to tell about its development from a small fishing village to a metropolis to its recent renovation.
"Cities face a lot of issues in their development," said Chen, hoping that sharing experiences through the expo may offer some solutions.
Shanghai Municipal Government officials said a survey conducted in 50 cities across China shows 94 per cent of the respondents said they supported the bid. Another survey on the Internet similarly showed the support rate at 93 percent.
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