By the time the 12th Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF) wrapped up on Monday, it had hosted nearly 1,000 publishing companies from 48 countries and regions that showcased their latest books, periodicals, electronic publications and audio-video products.

The five-day event was a major platform for book and copyright trade between Chinese and international publishers. Instead of targeting readers, the book festival mainly catered to publishers. Readers were only allowed to participate on the last two days, while the first three days were reserved exclusively to insiders from the publishing industry.

With the rapidly expanding publishing business in China, the annual event, which started in 1986, grows every year.

Compared with last year's BIBF, the number of stalls increased by 10 percent and the number of participating countries increased by six, with this year's newcomers Brazil, Mexico, Poland, Denmark, Viet Nam and Egypt.

As part of the 2005 China-France Cultural Year, France was selected as the fair's first guest of honor.

China was also the chosen guest of honor at last year's Salon du Livre Paris, one of the most diverse and prestigious book festivals in France.

The French Pavilion, with a floor space of 800 square meters, was the second largest national pavilion in the fair next to China. Eight renowned French scholars and novelists were invited to deliver speeches on French publishing and Sino-French cultural exchanges.

To promote copyrights sales of Chinese books, the General Administration of Press and Publication and the State Council Information Office also set up a "rights center" to showcase more than 1,000 carefully selected Chinese books published over the past several years.

(China Daily September 8, 2005)