China's Publishing Industry Draws Attention from Foreign Counterparts

Though the publishing industry, like many other industries, was affected by the financial crisis last year, it still made a leap forward in China despite all kinds of challenges. Its progress and potential drew the attention of its counterparts in a summit held at the ongoing 2009 Frankfurt Book Fair.

Reporter:

Unlike many fields that now face a sluggish market, the publishing industry in China expanded in terms of production and sales in 2008.
Liu Binjie, head of China's General Administration of Press and Publication, gave the details.

"Statistics show that in 2008, China published more than 270,000 books and printed altogether 7 billion books. The production increased over ten percent compared to 2007."

The digital publishing industry also developed rapidly and has become a key growing point of the field. By late 2008, about 90 percent of 600 publishing houses in China ran digital publication services.

Liu Bingjie said that the output value of digital publications will exceed that of paper publication this year.

"According to the predictions of scientific institutes, the output value of digital publications will surpass 75 billion yuan, outweighing that of paper publications for the first time. It is expected to increase by 50 percent year-by-year, which is also higher than traditional publications."

The growth in China's publishing industry against the financial crisis drew much attention from its foreign counterparts at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

The Chinese government announced its goal of creating a bigger publication market and making the industry more competitive in the global stage in April this year.
Many see the announcement as a sign that China will step up investment in the publishing industry and create an opportunity for foreign investors.

Arnaud Nourry, CEO of Hachette Livre is one of them.

Head of China's General Administration of Press and Publication Liu Binjie expressed that China is willing to cooperate with other countries to raise up to challenges and play an active role in the world publishing industry.