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) Photo Gallery>>>

    SHANGHAI, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Construction of the U.S. Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo started here at 10:00 a.m. Friday.

    Visiting U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Ma Xiuhong, Chinese vice minister of commerce, and Yang Xiong, vice mayor of Shanghai attended the ground-breaking ceremony.

    "The Haibao doll that sits in my office is looking forward to reports on your progress - as are the rest of us back in Washington," said a congratulations letter from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the event.

    "The United States is proud to participate, and President Obama and I are committed to doing everything we can to support your work," said Clinton in the letter read by Jose H. Villarreal, the U.S. Commissioner General to the 2010 World Expo, at the ceremony.

    The United States was the 240th country (organization) to confirm participation in the 2010 World Expo Shanghai and the 212th country (organization) to sign the participation contract on July 11, according to the Shanghai World Expo Bureau.

    Zhou Jun, an official of the International Exhibition Division of Shanghai World Expo Bureau, said the global economic slowdown had effects on the fund-raising of the U.S Pavilion since late 2008, which made the country a late comer to confirm its participation to the expo.

    "U.S. laws make it clear that the government can't participate in the World Expo with federal budget," he said.

    Several companies including Wal-Mart, the NYSE Euronext and Intel on Thursday announced sponsorship of the U.S. Pavilion, after Locke encouraged all American companies to donate money to the country's Expo showcase during a speech to the American Chamber of Commerce-China in Beijing on Wednesday.

    "Our commitment to leading on the development and employment of clean energy technologies will be on display in Shanghai next year as a city prepares to receive some 70 million visitors to the 2010 World Expo," said Locke at the ground-breaking ceremony.

    The expo organizer has reserved a 6,000-square-meter land for the U.S. Pavilion, whose construction would cost 61 million U.S. dollars.

    However, half of the funding goal has been fulfilled, upon the signing of the participation contract on July 11, according to the organizer.

    The Shanghai World Expo will be a six-month-long event that starts on May 1 and ends Oct. 31 next year.

Special Report:  Expo 2010 Shanghai China