China Culture Week was launched and a China-related book exhibition opened on Monday in Moscow, further stoking Russians' growing interest in China.
The opening ceremony was held at Chance Bookuu, a bookstore that sells China-related books in the city center.
"Chinese culture and books are inseparable overseas, and most foreigners get to know Chinese culture from these books," said Zhu Yongliang, deputy president of Zhejiang Publishing United Group. Over 492 Russian-language books about China and Chinese culture, as well as more than 10,000 books in Chinese were on display during the exhibition, which was described as "the book road on the new Silk Road" by Mark Ulyanov, director of the Chinese studies faculty at Moscow State University.
"China-related books have been enthusiastically welcomed by Russian audiences in recent years, and many Russian people have come to Chance Bookuu to buy books about Chinese language, Chinese culture and Chinese food since the bookstore opened in July," Zhu said.
He said China and Russia have had strong ties in media for years, and the cooperation of publishing companies from both countries can be a new channel to increase mutual understanding.
Svetlana Anikeyeva, the publisher of Oriental Literature Publisher, said relations between China and Russia have reached the highest level in history, and the rights to China-related books are quite sought after in the Russian publishing industry.
Mu Ping, the publisher of Russia Chance International Publishing Corp, which owns the Chance Bookuu bookstore in Moscow, said as more Russian media introduce China to local people, Chinese culture is attracting more Russians to the bookstore.
The Chinese business executive, whose company is based in Russia, said starting a China-related bookstore in Moscow was not as easy as he had expected. He and his staff decided on using events to help attract customers.
Over 160 activities, such as cultural lectures, tea-making demonstrations and Chinese traditional skills training, have been held at the bookstore, Mu said.
"To our surprise, by holding these cultural activities, more Russians, whether young or old, come to our bookstore. More importantly, we have the chance to meet lots of Russian officials and professors, and are able to push China-related books to a higher stage," Mu said.
During Monday's activities, agreements were signed on training Chinese-Russian translators and publishing Russian textbooks by Zhejiang Publishing, Russia Chance International and Moscow Normal University.
Mu said Russian scholars and students who study Chinese are interested in China-related books, but more ordinary readers, who do not know any Chinese, also are interested in knowledge about China and Chinese culture.
"We believe that with Chinese and Russian publishing companies working together, more China-related books will be introduced to Russian readers," Mu said.