The Vice-Director of the Guangdong World Expo Leaders Team, Chen Wenjie, confirmed on July 27 that Guangdong intends to bid to hold the World Expo. Chen said Guangdong has already clearly expressed its willingness to bid for the event but that the provincial government hasn't yet decided whether to bid in the name of Guangzhou or the PRD as a whole. In addition, the province would need the central government to approve the plan before a written bid can be prepared.
As for which session Guangdong hopes to bid for, the official explained that bidding procedures can take over ten years and that World Expo regulations stipulate that a country must wait at least fifteen years between the World Expo can return to their country. In other words, Guangdong won't be able to host the World Expo until 2025 at the earliest.
(By Robert Wang, David Keyton)
