The Chinese government has approved a project to build a Disneyland theme park in Shanghai, the Shanghai city government said Wednesday, paving the way for its opening in as early as 2014.

It is believed that with the announcement, China aims to create a good mood with the United States ahead of President Barack Obama's planned visit to Shanghai and Beijing in mid-November.

"China is one of the most dynamic, exciting and important countries in the world, and this approval marks a very significant milestone for the Walt Disney Company in mainland China," Robert Iger, president and chief executive officer of Walt Disney Co., said in a statement.

Similarly, Shanghai hopes the Shanghai Disneyland, to be built in the city's Pudong New District, will help attract a greater number of tourists to the city even after the 2010 Shanghai Expo from May to October next year.

Officials at the foreign investment department in the Pudong New District government were quoted by Xinhua News Agency as saying that several major state-owned enterprises in Shanghai would form a joint venture with Walt Disney to invest in the project.

Earlier this year, the Shanghai municipal government and Walt Disney reached a basic agreement on construction of the first Disneyland in mainland China. It will be the fourth Disneyland outside the United States following theme parks in Tokyo, Paris and Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong theme park has had a rocky start since its launch in 2005 with a series of public relations disasters that drew outcry from legislators and complaints from visitors.

The number of visitors has remained below expectation over the years, ranging from four to five million a year, and observers expect it to further suffer when Shanghai's new park begins operating.

Dismissing such concern, Hong Kong's Commerce and Economic Development Secretary Rita Lau said the two theme parks will not directly compete with each other.

"Our country has a population of 1.3 billion," Lau said. "We are more than able to accommodate two Disneyland parks. We can compliment and cooperate with each other."

She said unique features of Hong Kong's park will help it remain attractive.

The new Shanghai theme park will reportedly be about 400 hectare, or about three times the size of the Hong Kong park.