The 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games were officially launched to the Chinese public on 2 March in Beijing. Special Olympics Founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Chairman and CEO Timothy Shriver represented Special Olympics at the Signing Ceremony hosted by the Shanghai Municipal Government. The event began with remarks by Zhou Taitong, Shanghai Vice Mayor; Timothy Shriver; Deng Pufang, China Disabled Persons Federation Chairman; and Chen Liang Yu, Shanghai Party Secretary. The 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games agreement was then signed by Timothy Shriver and Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng. Special Olympics China Global Messenger Xu Chuang was also on hand to witness this historic signing ceremony.

Once the signing ceremony was complete, the official launch of the 2007 World Summer Games got underway with a week of activities including the launch of the official 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games Web site, press conferences, school visits and corporate leader and government meetings. One of the key focal points of the week was the rollout of the Games Executive Committee Fundraising Plan through corporate dinners hosted in both Beijing and Shanghai. In both cities, to audiences of more than 300 top corporate and government leaders, Timothy Shriver and Dr. Shi Derong, CEO of the 2007 World Summer Games, spoke about the importance of corporate participation in the development of a successful World Summer Games. They encouraged companies to get involved in sponsorship of the Games and to support Special Olympics Programs.