David Turchetti, Vice President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, took the upcoming Shanghai Expo as a sure bet for overseas companies aiming to expand their presence in China.

He initiated the 2010 World Expo Business Series where executives from heavyweight multinationals including General Electric Company, J.P. Morgan and 3M are expected to follow one after another to pitch their commitments to the Chinese market.

The first executive to have made a speech here on Wednesday is James Rogers, Chief Executive Officer of the world-leading Eastman Chemical Company which earned 10 percent of its total annual revenues from the Chinese market.

The American economy and investment environment were strewn with too much uncertainties, said he. By contrast, the Chinese market had brought up a good chance for Eastman Chemical to expand its presence as local consumers had started to pay attention to the issue of sustained urban development.

The world-leading company has made clear its ambition at the salon to expand its Chinese business by more than a quarter a year in the next few years.

Rogers said that the Shanghai Expo would play a key role in the company's long-term development strategy, not just the next few months.

Sources with the American Chamber said that the salon to be held once or twice a month would go through the six-month-long Shanghai World Expo highlighting the theme of "Better City, Better Life".

With six speakers having confirmed their attendance, the Chamber expected more attendance. Turchetti said that the salon was very tempting as it opened a window for large corporations to meet officials and delegations from other Chinese provinces, such as the coastal Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Smaller Chinese cities had got more attractive for overseas investors these days, he said.

More than 70 million visitors are expected to tour the pavilions and booths of 192 participating countries and 50 organizations after the World Expo opens on May 1.

"One could understand the excitement by merely looking at the numbers," said Chairman Robert Roche of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. "This is the once-in-a-lifetime business opportunity offered by Expo 2010."

With the Chinese economy recovering faster from the global economic slowdown than the rest of the world, the Chinese market has been increasingly viewed as the potential profit generator for multinationals.

General Motors Co., the first foreign company to be a partner of the Shanghai World Expo, has set a target to sell three million vehicles a year to the Chinese people by 2015.

In an automobile pavilion jointly built by General Motors and the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (Group), an urban transport scenario in 2030 is to be displayed. And by the end of 2011, General Motors will launch 25 new models into the Chinese market.

Kevin Wale, President and Managing Director of the GM China Group, interpreted the vision of future driving as "free from petroleum, emissions, accidents and congestion, and at the same time fun and fashionable."

A raft of companies sought to raise their brand visibility by sponsoring the construction of their national pavilion. DNV, a global provider of services for managing risks, for instance, not only co-sponsored the Norway Pavilion but also will host a 10-day activity at the pavilion's business center.

Joerg Beiler, DNV Regional manager in Greater China, said that supporting the Norwegian participation in the World Expo 2010 was the company's strategic choice to consolidate its presence and market share in China because the event's theme echoed its corporate concept of being low-carbon and environment-friendly.

Liu Jinping, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Commerce said that Shanghai warmly welcomed foreign companies to plow back in China, especially those dealing with new high technologies. "We are prepared to beckon in more valuable projects," said he.

(Xinhua News Agency April 16, 2010)