The mayor of Shanghai Tuesday expressed enthusiasm for and confidence in hosting the World Exposition in 2010, stressing that such an Expo will benefit both Shanghai and the world.
"It is expected that if the 2010 World Expo is held in Shanghai it will not only benefit Shanghai and China, but also create enormous business opportunities to benefit the world," said Mayor Chen Liangyu when making presentation to a delegation of the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE).
The seven-member delegation arrived here Tuesday to start a 5-day inspection concerning Shanghai's bid for the 2010 World Expo.
Chen told the BIE team that 280 out of the Fortune 500 companies have entered Shanghai, which is striving to seize every opportunity arising from China's entry into the WTO to further open to the outside world.
Chen said that the holding of the Expo would give Shanghai an aspiring arena for international changes and help speed up the city's move to keep up with the global trend of development. "Better city, better life" is the theme of Shanghai's 2010 World Expo bid.
Chen also gave a brief introduction to the delegation on a massive project recently launched along the banks of the Huangpu River in downtown Shanghai. The proposed site for the Expo locates in the area.
The project, with an area of 2,260 hectares, will produce an environment-friendly urban district with flourishing service and tourism industries, the mayor said.
Shanghai, which has experienced double-digit growth for the past ten years, is one of the fastest-growing cities in China. The city is also a hot tourism destination, receiving 80 million domestic and foreign tourists in 2001.
Chen assured that the World Expo in Shanghai will see a large attendance, a broad range of fields covered, and distinctive cultural features. The number of visitors to the Expo, if Shanghai hosts it, is expected to be 50 million.
Carmen Sylvain, BIE vice-president and chairperson of the BIE Executive Committee who leads the delegation, told the press Tuesday afternoon that she is quite impressed by the pride and confidence people in Shanghai feel for their city.
The delegation, including BIE President Gilles Noghes and Secretary-General V.G. Loscertales, will hear more presentations, conduct on-the-spot inspection and talk with local people during the tour.
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