AChinesevisitorreadsabookattheBeijingInternationalBookFaironAugust22XINHUAOverthelastfewyears,AbdelkaderRetnani,DirectorofLaCrois茅edesCheminsPublishingHouseinMorocco,hasbecomearegularparticipantoftheBeijingInternationalBookFair,anannualeventthattakesplaceinlateAugustinChina鈥檚capital.
Butthisyear鈥檚eventwasspecialforhim,becauseMoroccowascelebratedastheguestofhonor-thefirstAfricancountrytohavethisprivilegesincethecreationofthefairin1986.Inaddition,thebookLaChineetnous:R茅pondreausecondd茅passement(ChinaandUs:RespondingtotheSecondOvertaking),alreadypublishedanddistributedinFrenchandArabicbyitspublishinghouse,waspurchasedfortranslationanddistributioninChina.
鈥淏ooksaboutChinaareverypopularinMorocco,becauseMoroccansareveryinterestedinChina,鈥漅etnanitoldChinAfrica.
RetnanifirsttookpartintheBeijingInternationalBookFairin2014.Sincethen,hispublishinghousehasconductedmanyexchangeswithitsChinesecounterparts.FlamesandWords,apoetrybooktranslatedfromChineseintoArabicbytheForeignLanguageTeachingandResearchPress,wasoriginallydistributedbyhispublishinghouseinMorocco,whereithasmetwithgreatsuccess.
The2,000copiesofthefirstprintofLaChineetnous:R茅pondreausecondd茅passementsoldoutquicklyinMorocco,andthesecondprintisnowavailable.
鈥淚wantedtoconcludeagreements[withChinesepartners]sothatwecanbetterpromoteChina鈥檚richhistoryandsothatourMoroccanreaderscanbetterappreciateit,鈥漢esaid.
Risingexports
RetnaniisnotaloneintryingtocooperatewithChinesepublishinghouses.Atthisyear鈥檚BeijingInternationalBookFair,whichtookplaceonAugust22-26,atotalof5,678copyrightagreementswereconcludedbetweenChinaandforeigncountries,anannualincreaseof7.9percent.Ofthese,3,610wereexportandpartnershipcontracts,up11.28percentyearonyear,and2,068wereimport-relatedagreements,up2.48percentyearonyear.
BothChina鈥檚copyrightexportsandimportshavebeengrowinginthepastyears.In2003,copyrightexportcontractsaccountedforonly10percentoftotalimportcontracts.Butstartingthatyear,Chinesepublishinghouseshavemadegreateffortstostrengthenexchangeswiththeirforeigncounterparts.Inrecentyears,China鈥檚copyrightexchangesintheinternationalmarkethavegrowncloser.Thisisespeciallyapparentwhenitcomestothegrowthofexportedcopyrights(seegraphbelow).
Booksonliterature,cultureandeducationareamongthemostpopular.Inrecentyears,booksaboutChina鈥檚governancehavebecomeanewfavoritewithforeignreaders.ThebookXiJinping:TheGovernanceofChinaisagoodexample.
PublishedbyForeignLanguagesPressinSeptember2014,itincludes79articles,speechesandinterviewsbyXiJinpinginwhichhepresentsnewideas,newpointsofviewandnewtheses,andanswerskeytheoreticalandpracticalquestionsabouttheCommunistPartyofChina(CPC)andChina鈥檚developmentbetweenNovember15,2012andJune13,2014.
FormerFrenchPrimeMinisterJeanPierreRaffarinrecommendsreadingthebooktobetterunderstandChina,howitwillforgeforwardonthepathofsocialismwithChinesecharacteristics,howindividualinterestsoftheChinesepeopleareboundtotheinterestsoftheChinesenationbythepursuitoftheChinesedream,andhowChinawillplayanincreasinglyimportantroleintheworld.GarthShelton,AssociateProfessorofInternationalRelationsatUniversityoftheWitwatersrand,believesthisbookpaintsapictureoftherealChina,andsaysonecanbetterunderstandChina鈥檚aspirations,dreamsandambitionafterreadingit.
ByNovember2017,thebookhadalreadybeentranslatedinto24foreignlanguagesand6.6millioncopieshadbeendistributedinmorethan160countriesandregions.
HuangYouyi,VicePresidentofTranslatorsAssociationofChinaandformerVicePresidentofChinaInternationalPublishingGroup,saidthedemandforbooksaboutChina鈥檚governanceisverystrongabroad.InMay2016,hemetJean-MarieCambac茅r貓s,PresidentofEuropeanandInternationalAffairsSectionoftheEconomic,SocialandEnvironmentalCouncilofFrance.ThelatteraskedhimifhehadtheFrenchversionofChina鈥檚13thFive-YearPlan,whichwasadoptedinMarchthatyear,addingthathewouldliketostudyittoseekcooperationopportunitieswithChina.TheFrenchtranslationwasfinallypublishedattheendof2016.
鈥淒uetothestrongdemandfordocumentsrelatedtotheCPCandChineseGovernment,weneedtostarttranslatingthembeforetheChineseversionisevenreleased,鈥滺uangsaid.
Newmarket
Inrecentyears,manyChinesepublishinghouseshaveopenedbranchesabroadtobetterpromoteculturalexchangesbetweenChinaandforeigncountries.TangelPublishingCo.Ltd.,forexample,haspartneredwithPeople鈥檚PublishingHousetocreatethepublisherPeople&TangelPublishingHouse.In2017,itopenedabranchinMorocco.
鈥淭oconducteditorialexchanges,weneedtounderstandthelocalbookmarketandlocalcustoms,鈥漵aidHuangShuyuan,PresidentofPeople鈥檚PublishingHouse.
Asaresult,People&TangelPublishingHouseinMoroccorecruitedlocaltranslatorsandbooksellers.
InFebruary2017,People&TangelPublishingHousetookpartintheCasablancaInternationalBookandPublishingFairandlaunchedthefirstArabiceditionofProfileofTuYouyou.TuisaChinesescientistwhowonChina鈥檚firstNobelPrizeinPhysiologyorMedicinein2015.Theeventwasagreatsuccess.
Thepublishinghousealsosignedanumberofcopyrightexportagreementsduringthefair.ItsbookZhouEnlai:AGreatDiplomatincludessomechaptersonthecloserelationsbetweenChineselatePremierZhouEnlaiandAfricanpeoples.TwoEgyptianandMoroccanpublishershaveexpressedaninterestinthesechaptersandwanttotranslatethemintoArabic.
鈥淧ublishing,printinganddistributionofthebooksaredoneinMorocco,andwecanthereforebetterunderstandthedemandofMoroccanreadersandtheirresponses,鈥漵aidHuang.
Inthefuture,People&TangelPublishingHouseinMoroccoplanstostrengthencontentexchangeswithotherAfricancountriessuchasTunisiaandEgypt,accordingtoHuang.
**Commentsto: