VZCZCXRO8023
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHGH #0190/01 1140917
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 240917Z APR 09
FM AMCONSUL SHANGHAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7874
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 2734
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 1941
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0397
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 2109
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 1932
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 1728
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 8519

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SHANGHAI 000190 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/CM, EAP/PD (EMMONS), ECA/PE/C (KORYCKI) 
STATE PASS USTR FOR STRATFORD, WINTER, MCCARTIN, ALTBACH 
DOC FOR ITA/MAC - DAS KASOFF, MELCHER, SZYMANSKI, COUCH, LEHRMAN 
TREASURY FOR OASIA - DOHNER/HAARSAGER/CUSHMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ETRD PGOV KPAO SCUL CH
SUBJECT: SHANGHAI 2010 WORLD EXPO: YANGTZE RIVER DELTA CITIES HOPE 
FOR REGIONAL BENEFITS 
 
REF: A. (A) SHANGHAI 148 
     ¶B. (B) SHANGHAI 149 
     ¶C. (C) 07 BEIJING 7251 
 
(U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for dissemination outside 
USG channels; not for Internet distribution. 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) A number of Yangtze River Delta (YRD) cities are 
looking to Shanghai's upcoming World Expo 2010 as an opportunity 
to advance infrastructure development and tourism promotion.  A 
March 8 press conference about the Shanghai 2010 World Expo held 
during the Central Government's annual legislative session 
emphasized the Expo's potential benefit to other cities in the 
YRD region.  The Consulate's exchanges with YRD city officials 
during the past two months demonstrated that many are developing 
cooperation plans with the Shanghai World Expo Bureau. 
Discussions with YRD city officials suggest that the Shanghai 
2010 World Expo seeks to avoid one of the criticisms levied 
against the 2008 Beijing Olympics that the event did not benefit 
other cities in the region.  End Summary. 
 
Expo Officials Set the Stage in Beijing 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The Shanghai 2010 World Expo captured national 
political attention in March 2009 when the second session of the 
11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political 
Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing featured a press 
conference on the Expo on March 8.  Representatives of the 
Shanghai World Expo Executive Committee emphasized at the press 
conference that the Expo would not be derailed by the global 
financial crisis, promising that the event would break even if 
not earn a profit.  Expo organizers offered their views on the 
financial benefit to Shanghai, as the city plans to attract as 
many as 70 million visitors (10 million of whom are predicted to 
be overseas visitors) during the May 1 - October 31, 2010 expo 
season.  The 2010 Expo's theme is "Better City, Better Life" 
(see ref A), and Vice Premier Wang Qishan recently stated that 
the Expo would be a "platform for countries, organizations, and 
enterprises to showcase the latest innovations in urban 
development." 
 
¶3. (SBU) In particular, officials at the press conference 
emphasized the Expo's potential benefit to other cities in the 
YRD region.  Zhou Hanmin, a Vice Director of the Shanghai World 
Expo Executive Committee and a CPPCC delegate, highlighted on 
March 8 the Expo's possible contribution to infrastructure 
development and tourism promotion in the YRD region.  Also 
speaking at the press conference, Cheng Yuechong, Vice Mayor of 
Ningbo in Zhejiang Province, said the Expo will help push 
forward economic integration in East China. 
 
Views from YRD Cities 
--------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Calls on the Consul General by official visitors from 
YRD cities, as well as reporting trips throughout East China, 
have provided opportunities to hear the views of YRD city 
officials on cooperation with Shanghai on the World Expo.  Three 
cities -- Huzhou in Zhejiang Province, Changzhou in Jiangsu 
Province, and Wuxi in Jiangsu -- have been particularly 
interested in expanding their city's cooperation with the 
Shanghai 2010 World Expo Bureau. 
 
Huzhou Promoting its Local Silk Industry 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Huzhou, located in northern Zhejiang Province between 
Lake Tai and Hangzhou, is known as the "City of Silk" and 
remains a major silk and textile producer.  The Huzhou Municipal 
Government signed a cooperation agreement with Shanghai 2010 
World Expo Bureau last year, and Huzhou Mayor Ma Yi has stated 
that the city hopes to showcase the city's history and culture, 
as well as its environmental protection measures, during the 
Expo.  Huzhou Vice Mayor Li Jianping told the Consul General on 
 
SHANGHAI 00000190  002 OF 003 
 
 
April 16 that the municipal government hopes foreign visitors to 
the Shanghai Expo will make the 3-hour trek from Shanghai to 
Huzhou's Mogan Mountain and/or the Anji County Bamboo Forest, 
which was one of the locations for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden 
Dragon."  All of the cities in the YRD hope the Expo will help 
the region improve its infrastructure, thereby facilitating 
tourism, Li said. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Seeking to take advantage of its own history, as well 
as its contribution to World Fairs in the past, the Huzhou 
Municipal Government is sponsoring a cartoon movie promoting 
Huzhou's famous silk industry.  Vice Mayor Li proudly pointed 
out that Huzhou silk won the gold medal at two previous World 
Fairs, including at the London World Fair in 1851 -- believed to 
be the first time the Chinese participated in a World Expo. 
Huzhou officials hope the DVD movie will publicize both Huzhou 
and the 2010 World Expo. 
 
Changzhou Reaching Out to Tourists 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) During the Consul General's visit to Changzhou on March 
31 (Ref B), Vice Mayor Han Jiayu said the Expo would benefit 
Changzhou in six ways.  According to Han, the Changzhou 
Municipal Government plans to: (1) participate in Expo seminars, 
particularly those focusing on the transportation sector, (2) 
participate in the "Jiangsu Week" at the Expo, (3) participate 
as an exhibitor at the "Jiangsu Pavilion," (4) use the internet 
both to promote the Expo to Changzhou residents and attract 
visitors to Changzhou, (5) offer a one-day Yangtze River package 
cruise that includes a Changzhou stop, and (6) promote tourism 
to Changzhou at the Expo. 
 
¶8. (SBU) During a recent visit to Shanghai, Vice Mayor Han 
officially signed an agreement on behalf of Changzhou, as a key 
YRD city, with the Shanghai World Expo Bureau to develop a 
regional cooperation program as part of the Shanghai 2010 Expo. 
 
Wuxi's Proximity Means More Opportunities 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Starting off an April 20 briefing by stating that 
"there are only 375 days until the Expo," Lin Zhu, Deputy 
Director of the Wuxi Bureau of Foreign Trade and Economic 
Cooperation, told PolOff that Wuxi officials hopes the city's 
close proximity to Shanghai (Wuxi is only 45-50 minutes west of 
Shanghai by train) will allow Wuxi to take advantage of several 
opportunities at the 2010 World Expo.  Zhu said Wuxi officials 
have been discussing possible cooperation initiatives with the 
Expo Bureau for several months, and Wuxi plans to be a full 
participant in YRD-related or Jiangsu Province-sponsored forums 
or discussions at the Expo.  Wuxi will host a one-week Expo 
promotion activity in May 2009 to help attract positive 
attention for the Expo among Wuxi residents as well as promote 
Wuxi to a Shanghai audience. 
 
¶10. (SBU) In particular, Wuxi hopes to highlight the city's 
tourism opportunities.  Located on the banks of Lake Tai, and 
featuring the Lingshan Buddhist Temple, Wuxi also boasts the 
mountain springs at Huishan.  Wuxi officials believe the city is 
well-placed to attract foreign tourists during the Expo period, 
especially given the convenient train route from Shanghai to 
Wuxi. 
 
Elsewhere and Further Afield 
---------------------------- 
 
¶11.  (U) Shaoxing, a major textile and rice wine producing city 
between Zhejiang provincial capital Hangzhou and major port city 
Ningbo, has announced that it will observe its 2,500th founding 
anniversary during 2010.  Shaoxing officials told visiting 
Shanghai Consular Corps officers on March 27 and 28 that they 
hope to attract many visitors who come to the Shanghai Expo. 
Anhui Provincial Tourism Bureau officials with whom the Consul 
General met in Hefei on April 9 expressed hopes about near-term 
agreements with Shanghai entities about how to better link Expo 
visitors to tourism opportunities in that mountainous and less 
 
SHANGHAI 00000190  003 OF 003 
 
 
prosperous part of East China.  A Shanghai Municipal Tourism 
Administration brochure, "Expo 2010 Shanghai:  Shanghai Expo 
Tours 2010:  30 Tour Lines" that has begun to circulate in 
English this April in Shanghai only lists two destinations in 
Anhui - the ancient villages of Xidi and Hongcun.  However, the 
planned package tours also reach: 
 
-- many destinations in East China, including but not limited to 
Suzhou, Wuxi, Nanjing, Zhenjiang, Yangzhou, Hangzhou, Shaoxing, 
and Putuoshan; 
-- Beijing, Xian, Kaifeng and Pingyao; and 
-- in Sichuan, hit by the devastating May 12, 2008 earthquake, 
Chengdu, Leshan, Emeishan, Jiuzhaigou, the remains of the 
Dujiang Dam and an exhibition hall there, the remains of 
Beichuan Old City and the new Wenchuan county seat. 
 
Comment: Lesson Learned from the Olympics? 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶12. (SBU) Discussions with YRD city officials suggest that the 
Shanghai 2010 World Expo seeks to avoid one of the criticisms 
levied against the 2008 Beijing Olympics that the event did not 
benefit other cities in the region (see Ref C).  Nonetheless, it 
remains to be seen if the Expo will help advance YRD integration 
or benefit individual cities in Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces. 
A Shanghai-based Chinese reporter told PolOff on April 16 that 
with only one year left before the Expo's opening on May 1, 
2010, it will be difficult enough for the Expo Bureau to 
coordinate efforts within Shanghai to host the Expo much less 
reach out to YRD cities.  The YRD city officials we have met, 
however, all appeared optimistic that the Shanghai 2010 World 
Expo will have a positive impact on the YRD region, particularly 
in the areas of infrastructure development and tourism promotion. 
CAMP