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The visit by United States President Barack Obama to Shanghai has generated an unexpected business boom for some in the city.

A variety of T-shirts, bags, posters and trinkets with Obama's image are once again hot items in Shanghai.

"It's the third time an Obama T-shirt has been popular. The previous two were after he became president and when he won the Nobel Peace Prize," said Gan Shuqin, owner of an online shop on Taobao.com. Her shop features an "ObaMao" T-shirt, with Obama's face superimposed over that of Mao Zedong, with the famous inscription reading "Serve the People wholeheartedly" at the bottom of the shirt.

The "ObaMao" T-shirt and one replacing former president Abraham Lincoln's head with Obama's on the $100 bill are trendy among young people, said Gan.

Obama's stop in Shanghai, where he will be greeted with a Disneyland deal, will fuel Sino-US economic and trade exchanges, experts say.

Liu Aming, a researcher with the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said Obama will be the first US president to set foot in Shanghai during a state visit to China.

"It just shows clearly how important Shanghai is in China's economic development as he attaches great importance to Sino-US economic and trading interactions."

Ni Shixiong, former deputy director of the center for American studies at Fudan University, said: "The China visit will be the first meeting between President Obama and President Hu Jintao after the London Summit."

As plenty of issues will be discussed and new consensuses are expected to be reached, Shanghai will be the place for him to warm up, Ni added.

Frank Sieren, 42, a China expert and bestselling author who has spent 15 years in Beijing, said: "I think Obama is visiting Shanghai to see the most modern and developed city in China," he said.

"Through meeting with the youth, he wants to learn more about Chinese self-awareness, about how Chinese kids see their own country and what they think of the US. He probably wants to find out if the US is still a role model," he said.

（英语点津 Helen 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Nancy Matos is a foreign expert at China Daily Website. Born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, Nancy is a graduate of the Broadcast Journalism and Media program at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Her journalism career in broadcast and print has taken her around the world from New York to Portugal and now Beijing. Nancy is happy to make the move to China and join the China Daily team.