US pavilion at 2010 Shanghai World Expo breaks ground

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Gary Locke is in Shanghai, where he has witnessed the start of the construction of the US Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. The US Commerce Secretary attended the ground-breaking ceremony on Friday.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke (3rd L), Chinese Commerce Vice  Minister Ma Xiuhong (2nd R), and Shanghai Vice Mayor Yang Xiong (3rd R),  attend the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the U.S.  pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo in east China's Shanghai,  July 17, 2009. (Xinhua/Ren Long)

The global economic slowdown has affected the fund-raising efforts for the US Pavilion. The situation led the country to wait until last week to confirm its participation.

According to US laws, the government cannot participate in the World Expo with the federal budget. So all the funds used to build the pavilion must be donated by American companies.

The expo organizer has reserved a six thousand-square-meter area of land for the US Pavilion, and the construction is expected to cost 61 million US dollars. Half of that sum has been raised.