This Day, That Year: Aug 29

Editor's note: This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China.

On Aug 29, 2000, the annual meeting of the Asian Pacific Publishers Association was held during the Beijing International Book Fair at the China International Exhibition Center, as seen in the item from China Daily.

Initiated in 1986, the fair has become the world's second-largest.

During the just-concluded fair in the capital, about 1,600 overseas publishing organizations from 95 countries and regions, including publishers from 30 countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, attended the five-day event.

It provided a platform for domestic publishers seeking international cooperation and is seen as a doorway for foreign publishers into not only the Chinese book market but also that of Asia.

A total of 5,996 copyright agreements were reached at the fair, up 5.6 percent from last year, according to its organizing committee.

The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television's latest report on the country's press-and-publication sector said that China sold 13,816 copyrights to overseas buyers in 2017, an increase of 24.1 percent compared with the previous year.

Chinese publishers have made remarkable progress to reach overseas readers, thanks to the government's support.

In 2006, the State Council Information Office and publicity authorities jointly launched the China Book International project to push the country's publishers to compete and cooperate globally.

In 2012, author Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize in literature.

In 2016, Hao Jingfang took the Hugo Award following Liu Cixin, the first Chinese winner of the award in 2015.