China's output of 70,000 buses last year accounted for 22.6 percent of the world's annual production and this indicated that the country was on the way to become a major bus manufacturing center of the world, according to an official with the BAAV, a non-governmental bus and coach operators union headquartered in Europe.

"China's bus production is expected to maintain a rapid growth momentum in the next five years to come," said Luc Glorieux, secretary-general of the BAAV, earlier this week in Shanghai,

where he announced that the fifth Bus World Asia Expo would open in the east China metropolis in March 2005.

Some 250 passenger transportation carriers from around world would also meet on the occasion to discuss strategies to improve communication in big Chinese cities, promote the sales and export of Chinese-made buses, maintain the competitiveness of European-made buses in the Chinese market and ensure investment returns in China's bus market, among other subjects.

Beijing's 2008 Olympic Games and Shanghai's 2010 World Expo are expected bring a large number of foreign tourists to China, and Glorieux advised Chinese manufacturers to produce buses according to international standards to facilitate foreign tourists.

A total of 15,000 people are expected to attend the exposition.