ACC Representatives Attended the 2nd China-ASEAN Children’s Publishing Forum

On 16 September 2021, the 2nd China-ASEAN Children's Publishing Forum was held in Beijing. Mr. Wu Shulin, Executive Vice President of the Publishers Association of China, Mr. Xia Yunhai, Deputy Director-General of External Promotion Bureau of the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the CPC, Mr. Zhang Mingzhou, President of International Board on Books for Young People, Mr. Sun Zhu, Head of Working Committee for Children of Publishers Association of China, President of Chinese Board on Books for Young People, Chairman of the Board of China Children's Press & Publication Group Co., Ltd, Ms. Lin Liying, Deputy General Manager of China National Publication Import & Export (Group) Co., Ltd, Mr. Bai Bing, Editor-in-Chief of Jieli Publishing House attended the forum. Ms. Li Yaying, Deputy Director of Education, Culture and Tourism Division of the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) attended the forum and delivered remarks.

Mr. Wu Shulin said in his speech that children's publishing work is the foundation for mutual communication and understanding between people of different countries, and is of great significance to the future development of the world. The Publishers Association of China attaches great importance to the exchanges and cooperation between ASEAN and China in the field of children's publishing, and is willing to dedicate to this work thoroughly which contributes to contemporary era and brings long-term benefits to future generations, and sows the seeds of friendship in the hearts of children.

Ms. Li Yaying stated in her address that 2021 marks the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-China dialogue relations. For a long time, ACC has always been committed to promoting people-to-people exchanges and cooperation of both sides. Promoting the cultural exchanges among the children of ASEAN Member States (AMS) and China is one of the flagship projects of ACC in the field of culture. It is expected that the publishers from children’s publishing industry of ASEAN and China shall use books as a bridge to encourage common development of children’s literature and publishing industry of both sides.

Mr. Zhang Mingzhou believes that the development of children's publishing and the expansion of international exchanges is the trend of the times, and it is increasingly important to exchange and cooperate with outstanding international organisations. The International Board on Books for Young People has set up branches in 80 countries, covering all continents of the world. It welcomes the active participation of children's publishing organisations and reading promotion organisations in AMS. He expects this forum to promote mutual understanding and expand cooperation among all parties.

Mr. Sun Zhu said that children's publishers from ASEAN and China will have a strong belief in friendly cooperation, strengthen cooperation on all fronts in areas such as fighting against the pandemic, copyright trade, market development, outcomes sharing, experiences exchange, reading promotion, industry upgrading, and transnational operation, and will innovate diversified cooperation models, and continuously expand the influence of the Children's Book Alliance established by the publishing organisations of ASEAN and China.

As one of the series activities of the 28th Beijing International Book Fair, this forum adopted a combination of online and offline forms and is co-organised by China National Publication Import & Export (Group) Co., Ltd and Jieli Publishing House. Representatives of 13 publishing organisations from six AMS, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam, and two publishing houses from Nepal and Sri Lanka, as well as 23 children's publishing houses from China, participated in the forum. Representatives of China children’s publishing houses such as Jieli Publishing House, Phoenix Juvenile and Children’s Publishing Ltd., Tomorrow Publishing House, Daylight Publishing House, and representatives of publishing houses from AMS and South Asian countries, such as Kualiti Books Sdn Bhd from Malaysia, Penerbit Bhuana Ilmu Populer from Indonesia, Edtech Agency and Learning Tree Publishing from Viet Nam, and Neptune Publications (Pvt) Ltd. from Sri Lanka, made speeches at the forum. Participants had an in-depth discussion on the theme of the “Changes in Children’s Publishing Market in China and ASEAN Countries and the Cooperation Strategies in Post-pandemic Era”. The forum also released the “ASEAN-China Children Books Cooperation Project”, inviting more publishers from AMS and China to join the project, and using high-quality children's books as a bridge to promote cultural exchanges between the youths of both sides.