CHINA TRAVEL DIARY

Swiss Pavilion

Shanghai Culture Center Pavilion

Sri Lanka Pavilion
A scene of a craftsman cutting raw ores into gemstones

Chinese Main Pavilion

The funnel-shaped tower in front of the entrance gate to the Asian Zone





Spanish Pavilion




Growing Foreign Investments in the Chinese Economy

     On September 21, 2010, I visited the Shanghai Expo. Although it was a day in autumn, Shanghai was still under a scorching sun. Walking on the streets early in the morning made me feel tired. Fortunately, the Expo site was close to the subway station. As I was going into the site through the gate of the Asian Zone, a huge funnel-shaped iron tower appeared in front of me. I also saw an oriental-style, red building just across the street; it was the Chinese main pavilion. The scale of the site was great, but not very surprising to me because I occasionally saw its pictures on TV in Japan. As broadcasted by the media, there were a really great number of visitors forming a long line toward the entrance of every popular pavilion.
     What was most impressive to me was not just the number of visitors but a global atmosphere being felt throughout the Expo site. It was like a competition of economic cultures and advanced technologies by 246 participating countries and world organizations. I stayed there almost half a day, trying to get inside of popular pavilions, but often I had to abandon it when I heard the length of time to stand in the waiting line.
     Such an extraordinary interest in the Expo among people indicates a growing existence of foreign businesses in the Chinese economy. Official statistics about the world economy on the Internet show that in 2009 foreign capitals occupied 55.9% and 54.2% in the Chinese export and import values respectively.  This means that about one half of the economy is supported by foreign companies.
     The Chinese government seems to welcome foreign capitals, keeping the market open to foreign investments. A newpaper in Japan reported recently about a Japanese company having tried to get approval for establishing a plant in Shanghai. In an interview with a governmnet official, the company representative was asked questions like "Are you OK if your technology were made known in China?" and "Would it be acceptable for you if local employees might leave you someday and begin their own business competing with you?" The application, the newpaper says, was accepted at once when they responded in the affirmative.