A prestigious Chinese-American businessman is trying to become the new organizer of the proposed US pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo.
Oil industry executive James I.C. Chiang, 88, who had successful investments at previous World Expos, expects to receive a positive response from the State Department in coming days as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is back from the G20 summit in London.
"I have secured $100 million in loans for investing in the US pavilion project at the Shanghai World Expo, and already filed an application to the State Department for representing the US at the event," Chiang said at his Los Angeles residence on Saturday.
Chiang said he is planning to meet Clinton next week in Washington to report on his investment proposal, and is confident he will get presidential authorization to organize the US pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo, scheduled to open on May 1, 2010.
A private organizing team for the proposed US pavilion has so far failed to raise enough money to start construction, leading to concerns both in China and the US that the world's largest economy could be absent from the six-month exhibition.
The contract between the current organizer and the State Department expired on March 31 because of its failure to comply with the construction schedule, according to Chiang.
Under a US law passed in 1993, public funds can't be used for events like the World Expo and government can only authorize private organizers to represent the country at international exhibitions.
The US has failed to attend World Expos in the past due to funding difficulties, including the 2000 Hanover World Expo in Germany.
The US pavilion at the 2005 World Expo in Aichi, Japan, was partly funded by Japanese carmaker Toyota.
Chiang said he has promised a profit to his investors for the US pavilion project, which will mainly target Chinese visitors.