As the annual Frankfurt Book Fair is to take place on Oct. 14-18, China is ready to share with the world the charm of its culture and literature at the 61st edition of the event.

With a history of about 600 years, the world's biggest book fair this year is expected to attract more than 7,000 publishers, over 1,000 writers and 15,000 journalists from around the world.

Each year, the host selects a country or a region as the Guest of Honor, which makes it the focus of attention in the publishing industry in Germany and the rest of the world.

On May 31, 2007, Liu Binjie, head of China's General Administration of Press and Publication, and Chairman of Frankfurt Book Fair Juergen Boos signed in Beijing an agreement on recognition of China's status as the Guest of Honor at the 2009 Frankfurt Book Fair.

Describing it as a major event of cultural diplomacy, Liu said that becoming a Guest of Honor at Frankfurt Book Fair is a result of the rapid development of China's publishing industry over the past 30 years of reform and opening up.

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping will also attend the opening ceremony during his European tour and inaugurate the Theme Pavilion of China with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

China ranks first in the world in terms of both the variety and total amount of books, newspapers and electronic publications published each year, said Wu Shangzhi, director of the Publishing Administration Department.

China's acting as the Guest of Honor is an important symbol of the fast growth of its publishing industry and its opening and integration to the world's publishing industry.

More than 2,000 Chinese publishers, artists, writers and poets are expected to attend the fair.

This is a unique chance for China to present the richness of its culture and literature, Merkel said during a weekly video address Saturday, days before she is to open the Frankfurt Book Fair.

There will be a grand opening concert at Frankfurt's opera house, high-level forums for publishers, economists and artists, as well as a Chinese Literature Night.

One of the aims of China's role as the Guest of Honor is to take this opportunity to push the Chinese publishing industry outward, promote cooperation between Chinese and foreign publishers, strengthen Chinese products' influence and competitiveness and achieve sound and fast development of the publishing industry, Liu Binjie said.

He also said the Guest-of-Honor activities would, in light of the principles of respecting cultural diversity and promoting global harmony and development, help the world know more about a friendly China dedicated to developing harmoniously.

At the Leipzig Book Fair in March, the 2009 Guest-of-Honor activities were officially launched. In the following months, cultural activities such as writers' presentations, book readings, exhibitions and performances have been held in German cities. The activities will reach aclimax during the October fair.

One of the main goals of these activities is to demonstrate the achievements of China's publishing industry over the past 60 years and the contributions of the country's culture to the world's civilization, Liu said.