Shanghai must seize the opportunities presented by holding World Expo 2010 to advance the city's development, Xi Jinping, the Party Secretary of the Shanghai Committee of the Communist Party of China, said when addressing the Ninth Shanghai Congress of CPC.

Xi said that hosting a "successful, splendid and unforgettable" Expo was one of Shanghai's foremost tasks over the next five years.

World Expo Shanghai 2010 is a grand event hosted by China and undertaken by Shanghai. The city must seize the opportunity to drive city's development forward, Xi said.

Xi noted that, in the coming five years, Shanghai had to prepare for the Expo, host the Expo and handle the post-Expo effect. The city must combine China's traditional culture and Shanghai's history with the World Expo and expand the Expo's effect to share the resulting opportunities with neighboring provinces.

Xi said by hosting the Expo, Shanghai should mingle the theme -- Better City, Better Life -- with city’s future development, turning it into a pursuit by local residents to make the city more beautiful and their lives better.