In 2000, the Hanover World Expo was held in Germany with the theme of "Humankind, Nature, Technology."

The China Pavilion, with images of the Great Wall and Peking Opera masks as its exterior decoration and rich exhibition content, attracted nearly 30,000 visitors every day. It was made up of five parts, including the information superhighway area, future aerospace area, modern area, ancient area, and movie area.

In 2005, the universal exposition was held in Aichi, Japan, from March 25 to September 25, with the theme of "Nature's Wisdom."

Under the theme "Nature, City, Harmony—Art of Life," the China Pavilion aimed to convey the pursuit of balanced development in China and the relationship between economic development and social issues.

The emphasis centered on the development of city life, which presaged the main theme "Better City, Better Life" at the 2010 World Exposition in Shanghai, the first World Expo to be held in China.

In 2008, the specialized exposition "Water and Sustainable Development" was held in Zaragoza, Spain, from June 14 to September 14.

China sent a high-level government delegation to attend the event and built the China Pavilion with the theme of "Man and Water: The Return of Harmony."