US signs up for 2010 Shanghai Expo

After much speculation about whether the United States would take part in the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, the globe's largest economy finally put minds at ease on Friday and said it will be there.

Jose Villarreal (left), the US Commissioner General for the 2010 Expo,  shakes hands with Hong Hao, director-general of the Bureau of Shanghai  World Expo Coordination, after signing an agreement that confirms the  US will participate in May's massive event. Villarreal declared the  US "will have a pavilion built on time and on budget." [China Daily]

The uncertainty followed reports that the US team wanting to take part in the exposition in May was struggling with a lack of funding.

"We will have a pavilion built on time and on budget," said Jose H. Villarreal, US Commissioner General for the 2010 Expo, who was appointed by US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton last week. "I don't think we are behind schedule, and I think we will expeditiously get the structure built and open it on time for the grand opening (of the expo)."

The European Union also signed a participation agreement with Chinese organizers on Friday.

The EU will take 1,000 sq m of exhibition space in the national pavilion of Belgium - the country that will have the EU presidency during the 184-day event.

The US has been blocked by its own domestic laws from using government funding for expo projects since 1991. The nation has, therefore, relied on corporate funding and private donors to finance its expo activities, leading to a reduced presence at subsequent World's Fairs.