Minister Liu Binjie,

Mr Vernon Ellis, Chair of British Council Board

Ms Victoria Barnsley, President of Publishers Association

Mr Andrew Fowles, President of Reed Exhibitions

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Minister Liu Binjie,

Mr Vernon Ellis, Chair of British Council Board

Ms Victoria Barnsley, President of Publishers Association

Mr Andrew Fowles, President of Reed Exhibitions

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure to join you at this high-level exchange between Chinese and British press and publication sectors. I wish to offer my warm congratulations on the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement of China as the Guest of Honour, Marketing Focus Programme, to 2012 London Book Fair.

China-UK relations have grown in strength in recent years, with deepening exchanges and cooperation in many areas. Britain is a global leader in the publication sector. And many of your world-class publishers are well-established in China. Pearson, for example, had sales of over 100 million US dollars in China last year.

Chinese publishers, such as the China International Press Group and China Youth Press have also started their businesses in the UK. China National Publications Import & Export Corporation launched a Xinhua Book Store in London not long ago, attracting many readers.

Copyright trade between China and the UK has also been growing. Many of Britain’s classical literature works and best-sellers of the day were translated into Chinese and published in China. A lot of Chinese books, such as Wolf Totem and A History of the Chinese Civilization, have also been translated into English in the UK. The two countries also held workshops and training courses in literary translation and promotion events for translated works.

In April this year, I had the pleasure of cutting ribbons at the opening ceremony of the Chinese Booth at the London Book Fair. Today’s signing of the Memorandum of Agreement, making China the guest of honour in the 2012 London Book Fair, is an important milestone and big boost for China’s press and publishing industry in their endeavor to go global.

I am confident that today’s events will go a long way to promoting closer and more fruitful cooperation between Chinese and British press and publication sectors, and will help to enhance mutual understanding and friendship between our two peoples.

To conclude, I would like to extend in advance my best wishes for London Book Fair in 2012.

Thank you.