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Disney in Shanghai

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-01-15 07:39

The confirmation by the Walt Disney Co and Shanghai government last week that the world's sixth Disney theme park will be built in the East China metropolis is a welcome break from bleak economic news. Its timing too could not have been better for the city which reported negative growth in major economic indices such as revenue and exports for the first time in 18 years.

The $3.59-billion mega project and the Shanghai Expo 2010 are expected to propel the city's economic growth, spurring development in hotel, tourism, airline, convention facilities, retail, property and many other related industries, all of which have been hit hard by the current global economic woes.

Some economists have already forecast that such a theme park will help add 1 trillion yuan to the GDP after its projected completion in 2014.

The demand for such a theme park will be high on the Chinese mainland since the nearest Disney theme park now is in Hong Kong. But given the formalities Chinese mainlanders have to go through to enter Hong Kong, the long traveling distance, and the relatively small size of the Disney Park there, a gigantic theme park in Shanghai on the middle point of China's coastal line makes a lot of sense. It will be convenient and affordable for more Chinese.

The park might give some competition to Hong Kong Disney, which depends on Chinese mainlanders for about half of its visitors. That worry has long been regarded as the reason why a much-talked-about Shanghai Disney park has been delayed for so many years.

However, it was encouraging to hear that some Hong Kong business leaders have voiced confidence in their own theme park after the Shanghai project was announced.

Shanghai leaders, who are struggling to find a way out for the city's sagging economy, will find the much-need confidence once the State Council, China's Cabinet, gives the green light.

A great project though it is, Shanghai should not rest assured.

Investment-driven economic growth has long been the mode for China, including in cities like Shanghai, for much of the last three decades. But we all know now that an investment-driven economy is not sustainable.

In this sense, the Shanghai Disney theme park and the Shanghai World Expo 2010 will only be a shot in the arm for the time being; it will not be a permanent boost for sustainable growth.

(China Daily 01/15/2009 page8)