The President and First Lady Kim Yoon-ok are visiting Shanghai from Apr. 30 to May 1 to attend the 2010 World Expo held there, according to Cheong Wa Dae.

The President will attend the welcome reception to be hosted by Chinese President Hu Jintao and look around the ROK Pavilion and the ROK Corporate Joint Pavilion in the Expo Park.

The latter pavilion was jointly built by Korea''s 12 companies, including Samsung, LG, SKT and STX.

Separate from the expo, the President will have a bilateral summit with President Hu Jintao and exchange their views on escalating diplomatic ties between Korea and China and other regional issues.

The President will visit the building that once housed the Korean Provisional Government (during Korea’s colonization by Japan) and the Yoon Bong-gil memorial that was built in memory of the Korean independence fighter.

He will also have a gathering with Korea''s business leaders accompanying him and Korean nationals living in Shanghai.

The President''s participation at the Shanghai Expo will help elevate the image of Korea and Korean companies and contribute to strengthening bilateral Korea-China ties, Cheong Wa Dae said.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai Expo runs until Nov. 31 and over 70 million tourists are expected to visit the venue.