The Debut of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China (Vol. I) at the 2014 Frankfurt International Book Fair

The Frankfurt International Book Fair has by far the greatest international influences. At the Frankfort International Book Fair held in October 2014, the book launch of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China (Vol. I), caused an international stir in the publishing industry around the world. The author is Xi Jinping, newly elected General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee on November 15, 2012. The publishing of this book has a timely significance.

Since the CPC’s 18th National Congress in 2012, the world is more eager to have a clearer understanding of China’s new domestic and foreign policies. I recall a time when I led a CPC delegation to visit South Asian countries including Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka, to introduce the guiding principles of the CPC’s 18th National Congress. Wherever we went, people were most interested in this topic. Before leaving Pakistan, while interviewed by the media, I said, “Since I arrived in Pakistan, I’ve noticed that people from all walks of life are showing great interest in the CPC’s 18th National Congress. Furthermore, everyone knows that China has put forward new tasks of reform and development for the next five years. Everyone knows that a new central leadership led by Xi Jinping has been elected. When I was introducing the guiding principles of the CPC’s 18th National Congress, everyone was more than generous with their praises, reconfirming their belief in the effectiveness of the CPC’s governance, in the continued lineage of the CPC and in its achievement of reform and development. They congratulated us on our successful transition of leadership and expressed great hope for the CPC Central Committee led by Xi Jinping.” At the time, I further stated, “Pakistan statesmen and entrepreneurs are saying to me that they hope Pakistan-China business and cultural exchanges can be further strengthened after the CPC’s 18th National Congress. They have also discussed many practical needs, such as hoping more Chinese enterprises, including those small and medium-sized, will invest in Pakistan. Pakistan is suffering from a real lack of resources, like the shortage of energy, causing frequent electricity outages. Furthermore, they hope that the two countries will increase long-term and in-depth cultural exchanges, including establishing universities in Pakistan.” We had similar experiences later in India and Sri Lanka. The people of these countries were eager to learn more about China.

Shortly after the CPC’s 18th National Congress in 2012, a collection of speeches, articles and written instructions by General Secretary Xi Jinping were published, due to the pressing need of better understanding China’s domestic and foreign policies. Tactical decisions were thus introduced by the most authoritative voice in China, a really sagacious move. Compiled by the State Council Information Office, the Party Literature Research Center of the CPC Central Committee and China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration (China International Publishing Group, CIPG), Xi Jinping: The Governance of China (Vol. I) has been published by Foreign Languages Press (FLP) under CIPG in Chinese, English, French, Russian, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Japanese among other languages, and distributed worldwide, causing a great stir globally. The book has become a window for the international community to understand modern China, and given answers to the questions about modern China.

I once received an overseas phone call in the early morning from an American friend who works for a think tank. She had read an article written by a really influential person, and she asked me whether Chinese policies were going to change. I answered, “I haven’t read the article you mentioned and don’t know what it says and thus am not able to comment accordingly. I just want to tell you that, to understand whether Chinese policies have changed or not, do not judge on what articles someone amongst us has published, what opinions those articles have introduced, or what viewpoints my articles have published, but what decisions the CPC Central Committee has made, what speeches Xi Jinping has delivered and what propositions these speeches have expressed. Nothing else matters. There is a book for you to read and study – Xi Jinping: The Governance of China. The views in this book are the views of the CPC Central Committee. The book will tell you that the basic policies of the CPC Central Committee have not changed.”

I have been informed by Foreign Languages Press (FLP) that since the 2014 Frankfurt International Book Fair, Xi Jinping: The Governance of China (Vol. I) has been co-published by FLP in China and first-class publishing houses in ROK, Vietnam, Pakistan, Thailand, Hungary, Kirgizstan, Italy, Albania, Mongolia, Cambodia, Czech Republic, Burma, Poland, Serbia, Turkey, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Laos, Sri Lanka, Peru, Turkistan, Uzbekistan, and Romania, translated into their national languages. FLP has also signed electronic distribution agreements with CENGAGE Learning for the traditional Chinese, English, and Spanish editions of the book. By the end of November 2017, the first volume had been translated into 24 languages, with a global circulation of over 6.6 million copies.

Since the publication of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China (Vol. II) in November 2017, renowned publishing organizations of many countries have expressed their wish to cooperatively publish the book in their local languages and to promote the international translations of the book. Such reception is unprecedented in China’s overseas publication history.