Wang, who is also vice-president of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, says this year marks the 45th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between China and Italy, so leaders from both countries will focus their attention on the expo, which will provide an opportunity to expand communication and strengthen understanding.

Construction work on the China pavilion was completed on April 20. The pavilion will host a series of themed weeks and days for 17 Chinese provinces and cities and have 10 theme days for Chinese business, staging more than 100 activities in various fields.

"The role of Expo 2015 is to spread the work of the provinces and municipalities involved," Wang says.

"There will be a large program of activities aimed at illustrating Chinese efforts to maintain common cultural traditions to support natural sustainability and rational progress."

A total of 148 countries, regions and international organizations are taking part in the expo, and 55 will have pavilions. Organizers say they expect more than 20 million visitors.

Once the expo closes, the China pavilion will move to Qingdao, Shandong province,

Giuseppe Sala, commissioner of the Italian government for the expo, says China has a great history in food and is one of the few reference food cultures at a global level. It will be a key country for the expo and crucial to making it a success, he says.

"The exposition will be an opportunity to consolidate commercial relations between Italy and China and will give China a strategic opportunity to share its own culture, traditions and innovations."

Sala says this will underline China's role in promoting sustainability and innovation.

Earlier, Sala said in a speech that China was proving to be one the expo's key partners.

"With its three pavilions, the country is among those which has invested the most in our event. The projects which (are) presented and the interpretations are very high profile and will offer visitors an edutainment experience rich in content and of extraordinary interest."

A road show promoting the expo and China's role in it was held between October and March, taking in eight Chinese cities.

China's system of food production faces increasing pressures as it will need to feed a growing and increasingly well-off population even as economic development slows to a more sustainable level.

"The country's natural resource base is progressively more fragile, and climate change is shifting weather and temperature patterns, says Yu Xiaodong, spokesman for the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

"All of these have threatened China's food and nutrition security and come at a high economic cost."

Yu says the expo's being held in Italy offers China the opportunity to expand collaboration with European countries and multinationals on modern agriculture, energy efficiency and sustainable urbanization, and develop better ties on finance, trade and people-to-people exchanges to improve bilateral and multilateral business ties.

In his speech, Sala says: "I am sure (the expo) will be a unique opportunity to familiarize Italians and the rest of the world with the history, the ... traditions and innovations of this great country. China can and wants to make a strategic contribution to the global challenge of sustainable development for the near future."

zhongnan@chinadaily.com.cn