As the 2019 Shanghai Book Fair is in full swing, a forum themed “70 years of China’s publishing going global” was held in the Shanghai Exhibition Center, the main venue of the book fair, on August 15.

Presidents of seven publishing houses affiliated to the CIPG give speeches. [Photo by Zheng Qian/ Eastday]

Hosted by the China International Publishing Group (CIPG), the forum invited the presidents of seven publishing houses affiliated to the group to discuss the current status of China’s publishing in the world and how Chinese books have adapted to the tastes of foreign readers.

The exhibition hall of the CIPG. [Photo by Zheng Qian/ Eastday]

The decades-old publishing history of the CIPG has distributed billions of books to more than 180 countries and regions around the world. Meanwhile, the CIPG itself has also expanded to have over 20 subsidiaries as well as 12 overseas branches located in countries including the United States, Britain, Germany, Belgium, Russia, Egypt and Mexico.

According to Wang Junxiao, president of Sinolingua, one of the biggest foreign languages publishers owned by the CIPG, it established the Thames Education Publishing House in London in 2009 whose published books in the past ten years have been used by more than 100 schools. “The purpose of this localization mode is to better understand the local needs,” said Wang.

Books displayed by Sinolingua at the 2019 Shanghai Book Fair. [Photo by Zheng Qian/ Eastday]

Sinolingua has also established a branch in America. In terms of localization, it also abides by the market mode of textbook adoption in American public primary and secondary schools by participating in bidding in various states of the United States. At present it has won 7 states.

“We bid for access in compliance with the market requirements and thus are highly recognized and welcomed by the state Departments of Education. Our books’ being used by public primary and secondary schools in the United States is significant for American teenagers to know the real China,” added Wang.

In his opinion, opening up overseas markets requires the publishers to adopt a market-oriented method. Marketization means promoting books based on the actual needs of the target country and combining those needs with its resources and capabilities.