President Xi Jinping's book, "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China," has sold over 500,000 copies overseas since the foreign language versions were launched in September 2014. Overall, the book has circulated 6.42 million copies in 24 versions and 21 languages across 160 countries and regions in the world. It is the most popular book by a Chinese leader since the reform and opening up in 1978.
"Xi Jinping: The Governance of China," a book by Chinese President Xi Jinping, becomes a spotlight at the BRICS Xiamen Summit held from Sept. 3 to 5. [Photo by Guo Yiming/China SCIO]
Xi's book was published at a time when many foreigners wished to know how Chinese leaders could govern such a big country, said German Sinologist Ingo Nentwig. The book tries to answer the question, which is very gratifying, Nentwig said.
The book was jointly compiled by the State Council Information Office, the Party Literature Research Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and China International Publishing Group.
When the book first debuted at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October 2014, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said: "This book explains the position of the Chinese president and the central leadership of the country, which could help us understand China's politics." He added that the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the pursuit of an open, stable and prosperous China are both in Europe's interest.
In following years, the book has been translated to more languages and released in Pakistan, Peru, South Korea, Vietnam, Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia, Turkey and Hungary.
When the Thai language edition of the book was released this April, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha asked his cabinet to read. At the launch ceremony, Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, president of the National Legislative Assembly of Thailand, said: "The book is very unique as it tells the governance of a country and also President Xi's great insight, foresight, as well as his philosophy of governance."
In addition, many symposiums on the book have been held in Cambodia, the U.K., the U.S., South Africa, India, Kyrgyzstan, the Czech Republic, France, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
The release of Xi's book overseas has also brought increased interest in China and its literature from readers in various countries. In March 2016, China International Publishing Group signed a memorandum of cooperation to publish China-themed books with Palacky University in the Czech Republic. The signing ceremony was attended by Xi and President of the Czech Republic Miloš Zeman.
Under the memorandum, the two countries will cooperate in foreign publishing for mutual benefit in a sustainable manner, and cultivate foreign talents who both love Chinese culture and are also proficient in localized publishing to create an international publishing landscape in major countries, regions and languages.
So far, China's Foreign Languages Press has signed contracts with publishing houses in 10 countries, including Germany, Spain, India, Turkey, Lebanon, Albania, the Czech Republic, Poland, Serbia and Vietnam, to co-publish five to 10 books in each other's countries every year.
