CHINA is targeting a year-on-year rise of 15 percent in book export revenue in 2011 amid stronger government efforts to promote Chinese publications globally.

    Zhang Fuhai, director of the international exchange and cooperation department of the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP), said the book export boom was a result of the recent signing of cooperation agreements between Chinese and overseas publication houses.

    Last month, GAPP initiated a campaign to promote the exposure of Chinese publications around the world, including cooperating with international publishing giants to enlarge global sales networks and hosting book fairs in overseas Chinese bookstores.

    Under one agreement between the Shanghai Press and Publishing Development Company and French publication leader Lagardere Group, Chinese publications will soon be available in more than 3,000 of Lagardere’s stores.

    Zhang called this type of project “borrowing a boat to sail,” adding that his administration could push for more cooperative agreements between Chinese publishers and international giants such as Barnes & Noble and the Borders Group.

    He also said GAPP would soon issue more preferential policies to encourage Chinese publishers to invest more in overseas markets.

    Qi Pingjing, president of the China International Book Trading Corporation, said late last year that his company could achieve at least US$22 million in book export revenue in 2010, a 10-percent rise over 2009. The corporation is China’s largest book exporter, contributing some two-thirds of Chinese book exports.

    The corporation had 17 overseas branches, including subsidiaries and offices. But for a company to build its own bookstores and establish a logistics system in a foreign country was not always a good choice, Qi said.

    “What we will do to increase overseas channels is to include as many overseas Chinese bookstores as possible in our computer system,” he said.

    The company had begun to upgrade its computer system, which he said would provide overseas bookstores with real-time information of all the books the company exported and enable bookstores to conduct book imports online. When readers visit a bookstore’s Web site, they will also be able to see whether the books were in stock.

    The company has conducted book fairs in 100 overseas Chinese bookstores since Dec. 16, as part of a campaign initiated by GAPP which plans a one-month book fair at least once a year.

    The company also planned to increase digital publication exports rather than just focusing on printed books.

    Qi estimated that the growth rate of digital exports would largely surpass the company’s printed publication exports.

    Over the past five years, total sales of national exports of printed material increased by only 1.4 percent, while exports of online games alone was expected to double this year, exceeding US$200 million, according to GAPP.

    But challenges still lie ahead as few Chinese publications have attained much success in overseas markets.

    “We have to change the way we export books. Instead of exporting ready-made books, we should take full advantage of overseas expertise,” he said.

    Chinese exporters should localize their business. The whole process of business operations could be done overseas, from book planning, translating and design, to marketing and distribution.

    He cited the distribution of China Today magazine in France. What would have cost the company about US$200,000 to get its more than 2,000 current subscribers was “largely reduced” by its cooperation with ADL Partners, a major distribution company in the country, Qi said.

    In recent years, the company had acquired Guanghwa Co. Ltd., a Chinese bookstore in the United Kingdom, and Edition du Centenaire SARL, a French distributor. (SD-Agencies)