On 3 June 2008, Chinese Ambassador to Fiji Cai Jinbiao attended the signing ceremony of the World Expo Shanghai 2010 Leading Participation Agreement for South Pacific Joint Pavilion at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in Suva and delivered a speech.

Amb. Cai said recent years have seen the fast development of tourism in the Pacific Island Countries(PICs), which now becomes the pillar industry of PICs. The South Pacific Tourism Organization(SPTO) has been playing an important role in promoting the regional tourism and economic development. It has also contributed a lot to further exchanges and cooperation between PICs and China in this area.

Amb. Cai said China always attaches great importance to its friendly cooperation with the SPTO. Since China became a member of the SPTO in 2004, it has made a lot of efforts to support the development of PICs' tourism industry, and strived to expand its cooperation with the SPTO. Encouraging results have been achieved in bilateral cooperation. With the signing of the 2010 Shanghai Expo Leading Participation Agreement for South Pacific Joint Pavilion, China's future cooperation with SPTO and the PICs will enjoy even brighter prospects.

Amb. Cai said the World Expo Shanghai 2010 will be a magnificent event in international exhibition. So far, a total of 205 nations and international organizations have confirmed to participate. The collective presence of the 13 PICs, the SPTO and the Pacific Islands Forum(PIF) at the Expo will open a window on the regional tourism industry and showcase the beautiful landscape, unique culture and customs, and the passion of the people in this region.

Mr. Zhou Hanmin, Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Deputy Director General of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination(BSWEC), and Mr. Peter Vincent, Chairman of the SPTO signed the Agreement. Mr. Tony Everitt, CEO of SPTO, Mr. Peter Forau, Acting Secretary General of the PIF, and Mr. Huang Jianzhi, Deputy Director General of the BSWEC were present at the ceremony.