Xi's words put in English

Expressions of the president are published jointly by SJTU Press, Foreign Languages Press

When President Xi Jinping spoke in Seattle during his state visit last year, he said: "It's always important to make an effort to get a deep understanding of the cultures and civilizations that are different from our own."

Now an English book featuring his thoughts will be available on American book sales platforms.

A signing ceremony for Xi Jinping Wit and Vision - Selected Quotations and Commentary English edition and e-book global distribution agreement was hosted by Shanghai Jiao Tong Press (SJTU Press) and presented jointly by China Universal Press & Publication Co. Ltd (CUPP) and US Trajectory Inc at Columbia University in New York on May 14.

The book, co-published by SJTU Press and China's Foreign Languages Press, features distinctive expressions that have been selected and compiled from speeches delivered by Xi since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

The book is divided into four sections: Overview, Imagery and Metaphors, Everyday Sayings, and Quotations from the Classics. The book examines the origin and context of the expressions and explains the ideas behind them.

According to data collected by Open Book, a Chinese company that monitors book sales in China, Xi Jinping Wit and Vision has sold more than 300,000 print copies since it was released a year ago.

"In poetic and memorable terms, President Xi's thoughts have captured the imagination of the hundreds of thousands of people in China who have already purchased this finely assembled book by Chen Xixi (chief editor)," said James Bryant, CEO of Trajectory Inc, an intelligent network connecting publishers to retailers and a variety of distribution channels around the world, which will be in charge of the book's e-edition's global distribution.

"By listening to President Xi's message as conveyed in this book, people outside of China will now have the unique opportunity to look into the soul of a country re-emerging on the global stage," Bryant said, adding that he believes the book might provide lessons for other developing nations on their own paths to modernization.

"The publication of the English edition of Xi Jinping Wit and Vision and distribution in American mainstream e-book sales platforms will help readers in America and around the world to learn more about the Chinese president's thinking on governance, understand Chinese culture and wisdom, so as to promote elimination of Sino-US differences, and deepen mutual cooperation and mutual trust," said Zhang Meifang, deputy consul general of the Chinese Consulate General in New York.

The book is part of the Chinese Book International Promotion Plan launched by Chinese Culture Translation and Studies Support (CCTSS) along with many domestic and overseas organizations.