On September 26, 2002, Premier Zhu Rongji met with Gilles Noghes, President of the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE) and Vincente Gonzalez Loscertales, BIE Secretary-General, in Paris.

Zhu said that as a great gathering to present the latest achievements of civilizations in the world, the world exposition has contributed to strengthening international exchanges and cooperation and development of world economy.

Zhu said that Shanghai can meet all the requirements for successfully hosting the World Exposition in 2010. The Chinese government fully supports Shanghai's bid. China is world's largest developing country. If Shanghai wins the bid, the world exposition will be more popular and better functions as a link among all nations in the world.

On their part, Noghes and Loscertales agreed that it is of significance for China to bid for the world exposition and Shanghai's bidding work has been well done so far. Following inspection trips to the city, the BIE said it believes that Shanghai is fully capable of hosting a successful world exposition. China's rapid economic development and social stability are Shanghai's advantages. The BIE highly evaluates the full support given by the Chinese government to Shanghai's bid for the World Exposition.