Chinese showcasing of World Expo By Afshan Subohi

THE galloping China invested all it took in Shanghai to showcase its ability to beat the West at its own game.

The face of development projected by the free world — skyscrappers, gigantic airports, modern amenities, metro networks, hotels, shopping malls, overlapping highways, you name it — Shanghai has it all only on a bigger scale. It is competing to become the world’s next business centre.

The city got a fresh dose of huge investment in infrastructure over the last two years and a major facelift in the run up to the ‘World Expo’ whose opening ceremony was held on Friday.

This city of some 20 million people was frantically preparing to host the biggest and the longest-ever trade fair in the history of the world. Pakistan also invested in its pavilion in the Shanghai expo park. The Trade and Development Authority had organised meaningful participation of the private sector.

On Thursday, dumpers were moving round every other street corner in Shanghai, collecting left-over material from fresh construction. There were clean trolleys hanging from high rises. The government buildings hoisted new bright red national flags. Hedges were pruned to carve figures of Chinese families. Highways adorned the expo screens and hanging blue posters.

The technology-savvy grand exhibition site spread over 5.3 kilometres has had six trial runs to ensure efficient management before it opened to the public on Saturday.

What, however, is forcing China to underreport the quantum of investment made over the last two years in Shanghai and downgrade the World Expo comparison with the Beijing Olympics is hard to understand.

Song Chao, director, information office of Shanghai, general director of the press centre, World Expo Shanghai, insisted that China had invested over $5 billion on the Expo 2010 and expected some 70 million visitors including trade delegations from 246 countries before it closed on October 31. Independent observers, however, estimate the cost to be as high as $55 billion over the past two years.

“People are confusing expenditure on Shanghai infrastructure with the expo budget of the government to arrive at fabulous numbers that are incorrect. The expo did give impetus to the drive to improve the infrastructure of Shanghai but that is also part of the bigger plan to sustain growth rate and achieve development. We aspire Shanghai to become world’s shipping and financial centre,” Chao said talking to a group of visiting journalists in a meeting on Thursday.

He admitted that many sponsors had invested heavily to augment the Chinese government’s efforts to put up an impressive show that would pave the way for China’s closer commercial relations with its trading partners. The event, he said, focused on ‘communication and sharing’.

“Unfriendly media draws parallel between the Beijing Olympics and the Shanghai Expo. This is wrong,” he insisted.

Many ordinary citizens, interviewed to seek their views on the expo and what it meant for them, gave a lukewarm response.

But there was a sense of pride among almost all Chinese over the show that had been put up. Many, however, in the lower rung failed to see the connection between their working life and the trade fair. Almost everyone said they would visit the fair that had an entry ticket between RM90-250 except for senior citizens and workers who worked on the site.

“The roads have just been cleared up. We endured great difficulty during the time when work for infrastructure was in progress as it disrupted the flow of traffic in the highly populous city. It took me double the time to commute to and from my work,” a petty officer at a hotel told Dawn.

“I hope the Shanghai Expo achieves what it promises: a better city, a better life,” a taxi driver responded through an interpreter. “No pain, no gain,” he added with a smile.

“We are busy and excited,” said a worker whitewashing side wall of a pavement.

Shen Dingli, Professor and Head of Center for American Studies, complained about lack of transparency in the management of expo affairs.

“Such massive expenditure on the expo is a waste. For ordinary Chinese, the expo does not matter,” he said in a meeting with journalists at the centre.

On second thoughts, however, he softened his position by saying that he supported the expo but had his reservations about the way decisions were taken without consulting people whose money was being spent.

“It would help those whose business will get a boost, for others, it will not matter much,” said a hotel employee.

Yuri, another taxi driver, felt benefits, if any, were less than the loss of peace that the sudden influx of people would cause.

Some young people visiting Shanghai from other parts of China to see the expo were happy as it gave them an excuse to visit the second biggest city of their huge country.

Some successful US businessmen were all praise for the Chinese government whom they found to be very supportive of their own private businesses and respectful of overseas investors.

“China is doing all the right things at the right time to deliver high growth target,” Amcham member said in his office in Shanghai.

Chinese growth impetus was undeterred by pitfalls of 2008 financial crisis. While all free market champions are struggling despite hefty bailout injections in their economies, China continues its march ahead by growing at the rate of over 11 per cent.

“The Shanghai Expo could be for China what the Osaka Expo proved to be for Japan”, a Japanese financial journalist said suggesting greater development impetus beyond the expo in China.

Source: http://news.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/in-paper-magazine/economic-and-business/chinese-showcasing-of-world-expo-350