The 4th China-ASEAN Children’s Publishing and Reading Forum Held in Beijing

On June 19， 2024， the 4th China-ASEAN Children’s Publishing and Reading Forum， organized by Guangxi Publishing Media Group and hosted by Jieli Publishing House， took place during the Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF). Representatives from six publishing houses in ASEAN countries， four publishing houses from South Asian countries， and 18 domestic publishing houses， along with nearly 100 leaders， publishers， and media friends concerned with children and children’s literature， gathered to share cultural publishing information and explore new paths and models for cooperation.

The event was attended and addressed by prominent figures， including Wu Shulin， chairman of the Publishers Association of China and former deputy director of the State Administration of Press， Publication， Radio， Film and Television; Guo Yiqiang， former deputy secretary-general of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China and president of the China Book Review Society; Zhao Haiyun， deputy director and first-level inspector of the Import and Export Administration Bureau of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China; He Di， director of the Education， Culture and Tourism Department of the China-ASEAN Center; Guo Feng， president of the Chinese Section of the International Board on Books for Young People， chairman of the Children’s Books Working Committee of the Publishers Association of China， and chairman of China Children’s Press amp; Publication Group; Pan Wennian， professor at the School of Journalism and Communication at Huaqiao University; Wang Xiaohua， deputy minister of the Publicity Department of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Party Committee， director and first-level inspector of the Autonomous Region Press and Publication Bureau (Copyright Bureau); and Zhang Yibing， vice chairman and general manager of Guangxi Publishing Media Group.

The forum centered around the theme of “How to Plan and Publish Children’s Books Collaboratively and Simultaneously in Multiple Languages.” In-depth discussions were held by Dinesh Kulatunga， president of the Sri Lanka Section of the International Board on Books for Young People and president of Neptune Publishers; Huang Jian， senior president of Jieli Publishing House; Nguyen Lich Chi， general manager of Vietnam Chi Culture Joint Stock Company; Tan Fengxia， professor at the School of Literature of Nanjing Normal University and judge for the 2024 Hans Christian Andersen Award; Khor Ewe Pin， president of Odonata Publishing in Malaysia; Liu Xingbao， president of Hunan Juvenile amp; Children’s Publishing House; and Sok Rithy， president of Cambodia National Publishing and Distribution. The forum was chaired by Bai Bing， chief editor of Jieli Publishing House.

To date， children’s book publishing institutions in China， ASEAN countries， and South Asian countries have reached over 700 copyright cooperation agreements. Notable works such as Jieli Publishing House’s Mr. Octopus Has a Way series， China Children’s Press amp; Publication Group’s Dinosaur Doctor series， and Sichuan Juvenile amp; Children’s Publishing House’s Daddy’s Big Love series have been published in ASEAN and South Asian countries.

In his concluding remarks， Bai Bing， chief editor of Jieli Publishing House， noted that the topics of the fourth forum were more practical and substantial compared to previous sessions. The discussions on how to collaboratively plan and simultaneously publish children’s books in multiple languages with ASEAN and South Asian countries’ children’s book publishing institutions have provided more ideas， opportunities， and possibilities for further deepening cooperation in the children’s publishing field between China， ASEAN， and South Asian countries. Bai Bing expressed hopes for solid advancement of publishing cooperation projects and welcomed more excellent writers， illustrators， copyright agencies， and publishing houses from ASEAN， South Asia， and other countries to collaborate with China’s children’s publishing sector to share stories from our respective countries and tell the stories of Asia to the world.