Deepening the 'Belt and Road' Initiative, National Library Group explores new mechanisms for international cooperation
As autumn deepens, the Jianghuai region is filled with the fragrance of books. On November 15, the 'Belt and Road' National Publishers Jointly Entering Anhui event, co-hosted by China International Book Trading Corporation (referred to as 'CIBTC') and Anhui Xinhua Distribution (Group) Holdings Co., Ltd. (referred to as 'Anhui Xinhua Distribution Group'), was grandly held during the Huangshan Book Fair.
Event Scene
The event, themed "Hui Charm Silk Road, Shared Love of Books," is not only an important part of the 2025 Huangshan Book Fair but also a strategically significant international publishing exchange. Attendees included Wu Shulin, Chairman of the China Publishing Association; Xie Gang, Deputy Director of the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration; Li Yixin, Director of the Printing and Distribution Bureau of the Publicity Department; Guo Yiqiang, Vice Chairman of the China Publishing Association and President of the China Book Review Society; Ai Limin, Chairman of the China Book and Periodical Distribution Industry Association; Liu Bogen, Chairman of the Tao Fen Foundation; Chen Danqing, Second-Level Researcher of the Cooperation and Exchange Department of the Import and Export Administration of the Publicity Department; Fang Xiaoli, Deputy Minister of the Anhui Provincial Committee Propaganda Department and Director of the Provincial Press and Publication Bureau (Copyright Bureau); Ren Jiangzhe, Chairman of the China Xinhua Bookstore Association, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Xinhua Bookstore Main Store, and Executive Director; and Jin Tao, Party Secretary and Chairman of Anhui Xinhua Distribution Group. Additionally, 12 representatives from the publishing and distribution industry from 10 countries across six continents joined nearly 300 domestic publishing and distribution professionals to focus on publishing and cultural exchanges among the countries building the "Belt and Road," discuss cooperative development, and establish a normalized cooperation mechanism.
Speech by Wu Shulin
In his speech, Wu Shulin pointed out that uniting the publishing forces of countries co-building the "Belt and Road" is very important for cultural exchanges between China and other countries, and that this event is of profound significance. He expressed hope that colleagues in the Chinese publishing industry and those from the countries co-building the "Belt and Road" can inspire wisdom and share experiences through mutual exchanges, and explore new ways to deepen the effectiveness of cultural exchanges among countries in the era of the internet and artificial intelligence.
Speech by Xie Gang
Xie Gang stated that in recent years, the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration has innovatively established the "International Cooperation and Publishing Mechanism for China-themed Books," forming stable cooperative relationships with publishing institutions in 46 countries worldwide. In terms of publishing and distribution cooperation along the Belt and Road Initiative, the National Library Group has achieved breakthroughs in channel development, localized journal publishing, digital platform construction, and innovative exchange activities, yielding fruitful results. He hopes that industry colleagues will take this exchange as an opportunity to continuously bring the people of countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative closer to China culturally and emotionally.
Speech by Abdulaziz Almutairi
As one of the earliest companies in the Arab region to sell Chinese publications, Abdulaziz Almutairi, CEO of Source Gate in Saudi Arabia, shared that China and Saudi Arabia not only have a deep traditional friendship but also possess vast and continuously growing business opportunities. The company has maintained a close cooperative relationship with China's National Publishing Group (NPG) for several years and looks forward to exploring new opportunities for collaboration with Chinese publishing professionals in areas such as translation and publishing, book distribution, digital platform development, academic exchange, and cultural tourism industry integration, hoping to create more success stories.
Promoting "Regional Culture" Overseas
Against the backdrop of the ongoing deepening of the Belt and Road Initiative and increasingly close cultural exchanges, publishing and distribution serve as an important bridge for mutual understanding among civilizations and industrial cooperation, making platform-based and systematic development increasingly crucial.
Since launching the Belt and Road Library Expansion Project in 2018, NPG has partnered with publishers along Belt and Road countries, continuously promoting the establishment of resource-sharing and cooperation mechanisms, deeply integrating market channels in these countries with the essence of Chinese culture, and expanding cooperation from inter-library exchanges to the full industry chain coordination. NPG has deepened mutual trust and broadened levels of cooperation through overseas business visits, joint cultural exchange events, and copyright cooperation meetings. Among them, the regularly held "China's Overseas Publication and Copyright Cooperation Seminar" has become an effective platform connecting Chinese and foreign publishing professionals, while the South Asia International Book Fair co-organized with Nepal Contemporary Company has enhanced the influence of Chinese culture in South Asia. Meanwhile, NPG is actively building an international copyright trading platform to facilitate digital empowerment. Currently, NPG has compiled thousands of transactable books in multiple languages, with overseas user visits on its 2024 digital reading platform exceeding 30%. It has also engaged in deep cooperation with international platforms such as PressReader, enabling over 200 Chinese newspapers and magazines to enter digital reading channels in more than 40 Belt and Road countries. The Arabic-localized digital magazine launching in 2025 reached over 900,000 users in its first month, effectively expanding the regional influence and market coverage of Chinese publishing.
Benefiting from long-term stable trade relations with overseas clients, NPG's global channel advantages, combined with Anhui's cultural resources, generate tremendous potential. Consequently, in 2024, NPG signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Anhui Xinhua Distribution Group to jointly promote "Hui culture" overseas, creating a network of "Cultural Silk Road Stations" covering Belt and Road countries.
Zhao Zhen, General Manager of NPG's Import and Export Division, stated that the initiative to establish a resource-sharing mechanism for publishers along Belt and Road countries is not only a thorough implementation of the national strategy of "going global" in culture but also an active exploration of a new model of international cooperation based on "platform co-construction, content co-creation, and channel sharing." Relying on mature overseas channels and local dissemination resources, NPG, through a series of on-the-ground overseas projects, is promoting Chinese-themed publications and cultural products into mainstream markets along the route, achieving an upgrade from one-way output to mutual empowerment and from project cooperation to ecological co-construction, providing sustainable support for Belt and Road cultural exchanges and industrial win-win outcomes.
This event also invited publishers from Belt and Road countries to experience Anhui firsthand, showcasing the essence of "Hui culture" to global publishers. NPG and Anhui Xinhua Distribution Group not only aim to highlight cultural symbols such as Huangshan and Huishang but are also committed to promoting the export of high-quality Anhui books and cultural products, establishing the "Anhui Bookshelf" as a regular cultural exhibition window overseas.
"Anhui Bookshelf" Goes Global
As a major outcome of this event, the overseas launch project of the "Anhui Bookshelf" was officially inaugurated at the opening ceremony of the Huangshan Book Fair.
"China Anhui Bookshelf" Overseas Launch and Unveiling Ceremony
Ai Limin, Fang Xiaoli, Jin Tao, along with Kiran Gautam, President of Contemporary Publishing Company in Nepal, Martin Bekker, Director of the Book Business Department at Loot in South Africa, and Louise Russell, Honorary Chair of the Writers and Publishers Association of Oceania, jointly unveiled the first overseas "China Anhui Bookshelf." The first batch of Anhui Bookshelves will be established in New Zealand, Nepal, and South Africa, showcasing high-quality Anhui publications in literature, art, history, and more, as well as promoting Anhui Xinhua Distribution Group's self-developed IP "Yuan Xiaoa" overseas.
Why choose the "Yuan Xiao'ao" IP as a carrier to promote Anhui culture? Zhao Zhen stated that the IP "Yuan Xiao'ao," independently developed by Anhui Xinhua Distribution Group, has launched a rich IP ecosystem including picture books, cultural and creative products, and stickers, which has been validated by the market and possesses strong cross-cultural communication potential. At the same time, the mythical beast image of "Yuan Xiao'ao" combines ancient mythology with contemporary fairy tales, deeply integrating the regional cultural characteristics of Anhui with traditional Chinese auspicious symbolism, giving it a unique cultural representativeness. The IP's character design is both cute and anthropomorphic, making it easier to be accepted by audiences of different ages and cultural backgrounds, lowering the barriers for overseas dissemination, while being adaptable for overseas offline events, digital communications, and multi-channel marketing and promotion needs.
In addition to the intrinsic appeal of the "Yuan Xiao'ao" IP, the global distribution capability of the National Publishing Group also provides huge momentum for exporting 'Hui Culture' overseas. The group has established a physical distribution network in nearly 180 countries and regions worldwide and has built a global communication system that integrates online and offline channels. Over the past decade, the group has continuously participated in major international book fairs, established overseas branches and 'China Bookshelves,' and actively developed digital copyright trading and multimedia promotion platforms. This has formed a multi-dimensional channel layout covering mainstream markets and key regions, maintaining long-term and stable business cooperation with thousands of overseas publishing and distribution organizations and hundreds of thousands of readers.
In the future, the National Publishing Group plans to replicate the 'Anhui Bookshelf' model in multiple phases and batches in more countries along the Belt and Road Initiative and key cultural cities worldwide. By establishing a scientific evaluation system, they will prioritize regions with close cultural exchanges and significant market potential. The group will also actively collaborate with other domestic provinces and cities, upgrading the 'Anhui Bookshelf' into a 'Window of Culture' showcasing unique local cultures, systematically promoting more high-quality local cultural IP and publications on a structured and large-scale path to the world.
From 'Going Out' to 'Going In': Strategic Upgrade
Zhao Zhen believes that Chinese publishing currently faces common challenges in 'going out,' such as insufficient channel construction and the need to enhance cultural identification.
With 76 years of extensive experience, the National Publishing Group has built a unique, hard-to-replicate three-dimensional international communication system. It has not only established integrated online and offline channels covering over 180 countries and regions but also formed a global network of Chinese-language bookstores through the 'Overseas Chinese Bookstore Consortium' and expanded online reach via digital platforms like Amazon China. The unique advantage of this model lies in its capability to provide a full-industry chain service-from pre-positioned warehousing and localized operations to cultural activities.
Channel construction, localized operation, and cultural integration enable the National Publishing Group to transcend traditional publishing trade, achieving a leap from product export to cultural ecosystem development and providing unique platform value for China's international publishing communication. The current project, 'Belt and Road Partner Country Publishers Visit Anhui' and the overseas implementation of the 'Anhui Bookshelf,' is an important practice in China's publishing transformation from scale expansion to quality enhancement. By inviting publishers from Belt and Road countries to experience Anhui's profound cultural heritage and modern innovative vitality firsthand, it not only creates valuable opportunities for copyright trading and co-publishing but also establishes a new model of collaboration.
As a sustainable overseas cultural platform, the 'Anhui Bookshelf' breaks the previous limitations of relying solely on book sales for publishing abroad. This new overseas approach-based on regional culture, supported by immersive experiences, and sustained through long-term platforms-provides a replicable model for China's publishing to transform its strategy from 'going out' to 'going in.'
Those united in purpose will not see distance as a barrier. From the foot of Huangshan to the Belt and Road route, this ocean-spanning cultural export will allow more and more excellent Chinese publications to shine in the international market.