The 2015 BookExpo America (BEA) will open in New York on May 27, and for the first time, China is the guest of honor at the expo’s Global Market Forum. In a recent interview with China.org.cn, Fang Zhenghui, vice president of China International Publishing Group (CIPG), who is leading the Chinese delegation, discussed the Chinese books to be displayed at the expo as well as the future of the Chinese publishing industry.

Vice President of China International Publishing Group Fang Zhenghui [Photo/China.org.cn]

China as Expo guest of honor

The BEA is known as the world’s largest event showcasing books in English as well as the most influential annual international book fair in America. "The U.S. publishing market is one of the largest in the world, so BEA has much influence," Fang said.

"As the Expo guest of honor, China will launch a series of activities to make BEA the largest China-U.S. publication exchange activity held by the Chinese publication industry so far," he added.

It provides a great opportunity for Chinese exhibitors, including CIPG, to present the Chinese publishing industry, improve international copyrights, and help Chinese books and Chinese culture to "go global."

Multilingual books with distinct China themes

As China's largest multilingual publishing institution, CIPG plans to display 865 book titles, 817 of which are multilingual, involving English, Spanish, French, Arabic, German, Portuguese, Japanese, Russian and Korean versions. They account for 94 percent of CIPG’s books and 40 percent of all the Chinese books to be exhibited.

The books cover a wide range of topics -- Chinese culture, literature, Chinese language learning, traditional Chinese medicine and children’s stories, giving the world a full picture of China and demonstrating CIPG’s core competence in foreign language publishing, Fang said.

The exhibition pavilion will be designed with the theme of "experiencing China," said Fang. "CIPG has a 60-square-meter independent room that can hold more than 900 volumes. "With the support of professional overseas exhibition companies, we will improve our exhibition design and effect," he said.