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Belgian official: Shanghai expo will boost global economy

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-01-14 10:45

BRUSSELS -- The World Expo scheduled for 2010 in China's Shanghai will boost the global economy, Leo Delcroix, commissioner of the Belgian government for the exhibition, told Xinhua on Tuesday.

A worker cuts steel rods at the China Pavilion, the showcase building for the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, December 31, 2008. The World Expo scheduled for 2010 in China's Shanghai will boost the global economy, Leo Delcroix, commissioner of the Belgian government for the exhibition, told Xinhua on Tuesday. [Chinadaily]

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"I think the Shanghai Expo will give a big impetus, a big stimulus to the world economy," which is in difficulties due to the financial crisis, he said.

As the global economy is slowing down and most developed economies plunged into a recession, there is a concern that the Shanghai Expo will lose its attraction for the reason that presence at the exhibition makes less economic sense at the difficult times.

But Delcroix disagreed.

"I do not think so. I think especially in times of economic and financial difficulties you have to take new initiatives," he said.

"The Shanghai Expo can be a very good opportunity for western companies and Belgian companies to prove what they can do."

Delcroix said those companies struggling with the economic woes should take the Shanghai Expo as a chance to get out of the current trouble and to catch up with the next growth cycle.

"They have to use the opportunity to overcome the problems of the financial crisis," he said.

"And I think also it will be after one year and a half that the world economy will recover," at the moment when the Shanghai Expo is taking place, said the Belgian official

The Shanghai Expo is due to be opened on May 1, 2010 and lasts six months under the theme "better city, better life" to explore the full potential of urban life in the 21st century.

So far, 230 countries and international organizations have confirmed their participation in the exhibition, which is estimated to draw some 70 million visitors, a sign of the world's undeterred interest in the event.

Addressing members of the Belgian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Delcroix said the Shanghai Expo will be a record-setting event and a rare chance for Belgium to promote itself to China, a robust market in the world.

With 473 days to go, Belgium is busy preparing its big show at the event. Construction work of the Belgium pavilion, which occupies 5,000 square meters, is scheduled to start in April and to be completed by the year end.

When asked how to win the Chinese people's favor at the Shanghai Expo, the former Belgian minister of defense said Belgium has its secret weapons, world-famous chocolates and beers.