Cai Wu, Director of the Information Office of the State Council speaks at a translation forum held recently in Beijing. [china.com.cn]

China is seeing a large amount of trading surplus, while it's also facing serious deficits, at least in one area.

"China's outbound cultural dissemination and its influence upon the world do not match the extensiveness and intensiveness of Chinese culture," said Cai Wu, Director of the Information Office of the State Council on a translation forum held recently in Beijing, "There is a huge 'cultural deficit' in China's communications with the rest of the world in recent years."

Cai emphasized that the 5,000-year Chinese history and culture are a treasure not only belonging to the Middle Kingdom, but the whole world, and China is responsible of doing its own part in contributing to the structure of world culture in the new century.

So far, it has not, at least business-wise.

According to Xinhua News Agency, books China has imported in the past few years are ten times more than the number the country has exported. The sales volume of Chinese books, newspapers, and periodicals in 2005 totaled US$32.87 million - only one fifth of the number for import, US$164.18 million.

Readers' Comments: H.S.Yuen -- What is needed are good and interesting translators. In the past, there have been world class translators like the Yang Hsien Yi and Gladys Yang team which have translated many beautiful, adorable and outstanding classic novels such as: Dream of the Red Mansion, The Scholar, The Courtesan's Jewel Box and other novelets including poems. sens -- The youth today is being bombarded by all corners of foreign culture, so busy in absorbing others, how much time is left to concentrate on developing and fine-tuning your own culture? In my childhood's days, we enjoyed lantern festival, moon cake, DuFu, LiBai's poem, caligraphy, painting, folk dances, flowering making using dry natural materials, chinese musical instruments etc...today the youth is too pre-occupied with playstation( then get laughed off by Japanese), rock music ( then get sneered by Brits), violin, guitar, computer games, blogs, Harry Porters, Star-war ( then got blamed for being copycat) etc, their total time spent for the childhood has been a complete waste on the opportunity for local culture development. benzzhang -- The race of the Chinese people has been in the cyclic throes of catching up with the rest of the modern world and has neglected it's past while embracing the west.

Wu Wei, Director of Office for Promoting Chinese Books, thinks there is a substantive gap between the image China wants to present and the internationally-recognized image for China. "The products that demonstrate the very essence of core Chinese values, time-honored history, and splendid culture, have very limited influences."

Wu considers translation as the bottleneck for Chinese culture to go abroad. Cai also underlines the importance of translation as to bring Chinese culture abroad.

Jin Man, member of CPPCC (Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference), concludes that it's because of the low quality of cultural products exported abroad, especially those reflecting the contemporary development, values, and zeitgeist. Original works with spiritual depths fall short, and there is also a lack of national strategy, modern marketing operation, and professional talents to integrate the outbound cultural dissemination.

Nonetheless, some scholars hold the idea that the key for the deficit in cultural exchanges is that the mainstream value in China today lacks attraction to foreigners. Good translation and modern packaging are just lesser part of the problem. The exported cultural products in China today are mainly about traditional Chinese culture, highlighted by the success of kungfu movies.

Aside from low-cost shoes and some kungfu stunts, does China have more to offer to the world today? Or is it only because of low-quality translation that thwarted Chinese culture to go abroad?

Contribute your view in our forum.