We're not sure (and never have been) of all the crazy ins and outs of the situation, involving clown-car US congressional politicking, rather American-centric assumptions about what the rest of the world thinks about World Expos (not much if you're the "average American" and "everything!" if you're an "Old China Hand") and kowtowing expat business-community wheeling & dealing in the midst of the US financial meltdown. It all added up to an increasingly desperate attempt to cobble together a respectable pavilion in order to save face (we're not quite sure whose) by paying homage to China's all-around awesomeness as the only major piece of the global economy not to have headed straight down the flush in the past year or so....

But hey, whattaya know, the months-long last-minute Chinese fire drill-style orgy of American-style boosterism has yieleded the inevitable result: The USA will have an awesome (paritally) corporate-funded pavilion! The feelings of the Chinese people will not be hurt! The even more bruisable feelings of the American expat business community will also not be hurt! (At least not publicly). And Haibao will get to wear his cowboy outfit with pride!

Anyway, here's the PR hack's take on it from the US Pavilion site:

"It's official: the USA Pavilion (USAP) at Shanghai Expo 2010 is a done deal. The governments and people of both countries welcome a positive new chapter in what has been a difficult, suspenseful and sometimes uncertain undertaking. In a difficult economy and a compressed timeframe, the team headed by Nick Winslow and Ellen Eliasoph has succeeded in raising enough private funds for the US and China to enter into a formal participation agreement and for pavilion construction to officially commence. Jose Villareal, US Commissioner General, and Gary Locke, US Secretary of Commerce, will both be present on the expo site for tomorrow's ceremonial groundbreaking."

Phew!