"At present, 124 countries and international organizations have confirmed their presence at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo," said Yang Xiong, vice mayor of the Shanghai Municipal Government and deputy director of the executive committee of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo.

On Monday, Wang Guangya, China's ambassador to the UN, held an international recommendation meeting for the Expo. In this meeting, Yang Xiong and Hua Junduo, the general representative of China for the Shanghai World Expo, along with other officials, outlined some of the work that is being done in preparation for the Expo.

They said China considered the Expo to be very imported. The government has formulated special preferential policies to support it, and a fund of US$100 million has been established to encourage developing countries and international organizations to attend the grand expo.

Yang Xiong said that since Premier Wen Jiabao issued an invitation to all countries and international organizations to participate in the Shanghai World Expo on March 22 last year, 124 countries and organizations had confirmed their presence, including countries with no diplomatic ties to China, such as Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Palau.

By People's Daily Online