The Shanghai municipal government said Thursday that the city is confident it will be chosen to host the World Expo 2010 when the final selection is announced in three months.

"We hope earnestly to host the 2010 World Exposition. We have the confidence, the capability and the conditions," said Wang Junyi, director of the Expo 2010 Shanghai China Bidding Office, at a press conference Thursday.

If Shanghai is chosen, the city is set to present a "most successful, wonderful and memorable" world exposition that will benefit all participating countries substantially, Wang said.

International Bureau of Exhibitions (BIE) members will vote for the Expo 2010 host city in Monaco on December 3.

Four other cities -- namely Yeosu of South Korea, Wroclaw of Poland, Moscow of Russia and Quer'etaro in Mexico -- are competing with Shanghai to host the expo.

Wang said yesterday the BIE delegation had expressed great satisfaction with Shanghai during its visit to the city this March, saying Shanghai was a "very competitive candidate."

Wang yesterday urged BIE members to make a "proper" choice in December on the basis of "choosing the city that can host the most excellent expo."

As the world's largest economic, cultural and scientific festival, the exposition should not be influenced by political factors or regionalism, Wang said.

Wang stressed once again Shanghai's advantages, highlighting the "enormous business opportunities" in the city and the whole of China.

"In the coming decades, China will maintain a good social and economical development momentum as it has for the past two decades.... And all participants can benefit greatly from the exposition," said Wang, quoting previous remarks by Wu Yi, China's State Councillor who heads the State Bidding Commission for Expo 2010.

( People's Daily September 6, 2002)