Vanke 1st corporate participant at Milan Expo 2015

MILAN, Italy -- China Vanke Co, a global leader in real estate industry, became on Friday the first corporate participant at the Milan Expo 2015 and will show the world some values of contemporary China through its own pavilion.

With an initial investment of three million euros ($3.9 million), China Vanke Co, which provides over 100,000 housing units, will recreate the concept space of "shitang" or canteen, a traditional place which continues to be part of today's Chinese society and represents a way to socialize.

Inside Vanke's Expo pavilion, which will be built on a lot of 959 square meters in the corporate area of the site, there will be real dining spaces where visitors may eat in a healthy way while exchanging opinions and projects, China Vanke Co's Executive Vice President Ding Changfeng said after signing the participation contract.

With its presence at the Milan event, the theme of which is "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life," the property developer will showcase the aim of Chinese companies to help improve the social fabric of cities towards more food security and sustainable development, he added.

Daniel Libeskind, an internationally renowned architect from the United States, will design China Vanke Co's pavilion.

"It will be a profoundly meaningful space in terms of the core values of Vanke but also the core values of the Milan Expo which have to do with the future of the planet," he told Xinhua at the signing ceremony.

Libeskind, who has carried out other projects in China, said that it was a "fantastic and challenging experience" to collaborate with such a great company of a country which brings an important cultural and economic contribution to the world.

China Vanke Co's participation at Expo Milano 2015 will especially contribute to the development of the "China Special Project", aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation at both the governmental and private levels, organizers said.

One of the main objectives is to attract one million Chinese visitors to the world exhibition. "It is an ambitious target, and China is actively helping us in this achievement," the CEO of Expo 2015, Giuseppe Sala, told Xinhua.

"China confirms to be a very significant country for Milan Expo 2015, and today's signature with China Vanke Co shows that Chinese companies are ready to seize the many opportunities offered," he said.

Helping participants get ready for the event is a fundamental task, Sala pointed out. "For example, on May 2-3 we will introduce our partners to the countries which will have self-built pavilions, " in order to facilitate relations during the construction works.

The overall budget planned by the participating countries is expected to exceed one billion euros, which adds to another 1.3 billion euros allocated by the Italian government, the CEO noted.

A total of 126 countries have so far confirmed their presence and by the end of this year they should be handed over the single lots.