Let the World Learn More About China Through Books

How should we disseminate Chinese ideas， advocate for good Chinese proposals， exhibit Chinese wisdom， and let the world better understand China through publications？ Recently， the heads of relevant state departments accepted an exclusive interview with a reporter from China Press Publication Radio Film and Television Journal regarding the key missions mentioned.

A Continuous Promotion of the Dissemination of Important Works of General Secretary Xi Jinping

At the beginning of this year， the publishing industry received some good news： five important traditional Chinese volumes were published and distributed in Hong Kong and Macao SARs， namely the offprint of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s Speech at a Ceremony Marking the Centenary of the Communist Party of China （CPC）， Qamp;A on Learning Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era， A Concise History of the Communist Party of China， Mao Zedong， Deng Xiaoping， Jiang Zemin， and Hu Jintao’s Excerpts on the History of the Communist Party of China， and Chronicle of CPC’s 100-year History.

The publication and distribution of such important works will help readers and friends from diverse industries in Hong Kong and Macao SARs to better understand" developmental achievements， motivation， and prospects of contemporary China， while having a more comprehensive and profound appreciation of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s deep-seated ideological charisma， insightful cultural knowledge， friendly and humble personality， as well as his noble and sincere love for his people， his country and the whole world， thus opening a window of ideology through these publications.

General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important works are rather popular and well-received among overseas readerships. According to non-exhaustive statistics， in 2021， General Secretary Xi Jinping’s writings and related books were published in more than 10 foreign language editions， with 15 target languages and distributed to more than 20 countries and regions. 42 global copyrights of Poverty Alleviation Stories of Xi Jinping， 27 overseas copyrights of Stories Told by President Xi Jinping， 20 copyrights of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s Dictionary and 15 copyrights of Xi Jinping’s New Era Socialist Thought with Chinese Characteristics were distributed and sold. Moreover， 150，000 copies of the English edition of Xi Jinping： Wit and Vision–– Selected Quotations and Commentary have been distributed， while its Japanese version has been a best-selling book on Amazon Japan for a prolonged period of time.

2022 is a year to promote the translation and publication of relevant works of General Secretary Xi Jinping to the world， demonstrate to the world the power of truth and practice of Xi Jinping’s thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era， and help the international community understand the source of ideas and spiritual power behind China’s tremendous changes.

Promotion and Implementation of the Spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China （CPC）

2022 is an important year for China to begin a new journey toward the second centenary goal of building a modern socialist country in all respects. The Communist Party of China is about to convene its 20th National Congress. With the advent of these major events， the top priority of the publishing industry is to allow the world to learn more about China and gain further understanding on the concept， practice， and achievements of our party’s governance of the country.

At the 28th Beijing International Book Fair held from September 14th to 18th， 2021， 288 kinds of important works of General Secretary Xi Jinping and related books in Chinese and foreign languages， books for learning and education on the history of the CPC and the “Four Histories” （the histories of the CPC， New China， the reform and opening-up， and socialist development）， and revolutionary stories of the CPC， etc.， were exhibited as part of “The Exhibition of High-Quality Publications to Celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China.” Such publications were very well received. Many on-site visitors experienced the fascination of reading brought by high-quality publications through a variety of high-tech exhibits such as the large screen panoramic theater with naked-eye VR content， making the publications exhibition a trending and popular attraction at the book fair.

As the world’s first major international book fair to resume， combining activities for both offline and online exhibitions， the success of the 28th Beijing International Book Fair is a snapshot of China using books as a medium and promoting Chinese culture to go global. With the theme of “Promoting Exchange and Mutual Learning Among Civilizations”， the book fair is anchored in China and oriented to the world. Its idea of using Chinese books of both quality and academic merit， rich and colorful publishing， and cultural exchange activities， alongside its advanced technology platform carriers， has gained a wide range of recognition and attention from numerous international exhibitors.

It takes the Beijing International Book Fair as a platform to tell the story of China and the Communist Party of China， promoting a vast array of outstanding publications with Chinese characteristics and embodying the spirit of China. Imbued with Chinese wisdom to go out of China and into the world， it has not only contributed to shaping a credible， adorable， and respectable image of China， but also opened up a new “blue ocean” for Chinese publishing to go global in the new era.

By learning from history， we can create a bright future. This year， China has many major events to celebrate， focusing on releasing a number of foreign language versions of books for the international market， with emphasis on translating and publishing the series on the spiritual genealogy of the Chinese Communists. We will further promote the 20th National Congress of the CPC to the world through translation and publication， exhibition and display， distribution and promotion， and “going out” projects of digital publishing.

Fully Demonstrate the Concept of Exchanges and Mutual Learning Among Civilizations

Building a human community with a shared future requires reinforcement of exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations. In order to give full play to the crucial role of publishing in the exchange and mutual learning of civilizations and fully demonstrate China’s ideas and actions to promote this， there are mainly seven critical areas of work.

First， to make every effort in carrying out and promoting the Sino-foreign mutual book translation plan. Focus on promoting the reciprocal translation and publication of classic works with contracting countries， promoting the distribution in target countries， while also encouraging more countries to sign memorandums and speed up the implementation.

Second， to steadily expand the That’s China project. Continue to communicate with relevant enterprises， overseas specialty bookstores， airport bookstores， and other venues to build a well-laid-out and interconnected cluster of Chinese bookshelves.

Third， to promote the Chinese classics and other works to go global. Focus on promoting the multilingual translation and publication of classics such as 100 Classics of Chinese Traditional Culture.

Fourth， continue to run the 29th Beijing International Book Fair as best as possible. On the basis of analysis and organization of exhibition outcomes and experience， innovate in terms of methodology， expand the channel platform， run a good offline exhibition， optimize and upgrade the online book fair， encourage the integration and innovation of technology and publishing， promote the integrated development of the book fair offline and online， and create a never-ending exhibition.

Fifth， to hold the 16th Special Book Award of China with optimum quality. Unite foreign experts to continue to act as ambassadors of humanistic exchanges between China and foreign countries， devote fully to the exchange and mutual learning among Chinese and foreign civilizations， build bridges to unite the people， and guide people from all countries to gain a better understanding and get familiar with China through the experience of contemporary China’s development and learning about the amazing Chinese culture.

Sixth， to improve the quality of “going out” publishing. Focusing on the implementation of the 14th Five-Year Plan， the Beijing Winter Olympics and other themes， carry out a fine job of translating and publishing projects for foreign countries， such as Classic China and Silk Road Books， and carefully craft and widely disseminate high-quality publications with Chinese characteristics， highlighting the Chinese spirit， embodying Chinese wisdom， proclaiming the Chinese way， reflecting Chinese values， and exhibiting Chinese contributions.

Seventh， to deepen external cooperation and exchange. Guide the organization of the 29th Beijing International Book Fair， Beijing International Publishing Forum， The Fifth China-CEEC Publishing Association Forum， and Belt and Road Publishing Cooperation Forum 2022. Adapt to the changes in the post-pandemic era， continue to build the “Read China” brand， organize domestic publishing entities to take part in international offline and online book fairs in a flexible manner， and organize overseas Chinese bookstores and relevant publishing institutions to display and sell books with Chinese content in foreign languages. Encourage the establishment of groups such as the China-Japan-Korea Publishing Alliance and guide domestic publishing and distribution entities to establish cooperative relationships across regions， departments， and industries.

2022 is the second year of the 14th Five-Year Plan. The goal is to consolidate further and enhance existing platforms and channels， increase the effective supply of Chinese publications overseas， study and propose policies and measures to promote physical exports， make up for shortcomings， reduce the deficit， and examine ways and measures to support online literature and online games to go global， so as to enhance the international influence and impact of Chinese publishing and let the world learn more about China through books.

Reprinted from China Press Publication Radio Film and Television Journal， February 23， 2022