Page 338 - 2020 White Paper on the Business Environment in China
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0 White Paper on the Business Environment in China
compared with 15,000 in 1978. A total of 9.24 industry has been growing by leaps and bounds
billion copies were printed, generating a total sales while the US is at best stable (Williams).
volume of US$ 53.5 billion. Since the reform and
opening up, China’s publishing industry has evolved Books for children is the golden goose. The oft-
in areas of management, ownership, supplies of quoted numbers remain as compelling as ever: 370
cultural products and services and integration with million people under the age of 18, an additional
other sectors, said NPPA official Liu Xiaokai at an 17.5 million babies born annually, and at least 600
event commemorating the publishing industry’s active publishers in the children’s book industry.
development this week. Physical bookstores in China Plus, 60 percent of China’s 1.4 billion people now
have taken the path of integrated development and live in urban areas, up dramatically from barely
transformation and upgrading, thanks to favorable 20 percent four decades ago. And at least 76
policies introduced in recent years. It has also become percent of this burgeoning urban population (or
a main-stream trend for bookstores to promote the 500 million people) will be middle class by 2020.
integration of online and offline stores. Meanwhile, Parents in this demographic—young, demanding,
multiple publishing patterns, including traditional discerning, globally minded, and sophisticated—are
printed publishing and emerging electronic, digital, also used to trawling the internet and parenting
internet and big data publishing, have changed the platforms for tips. They also don’t hesitate to
way of reading (Xinhua, Industry Booming). click the “Add to cart” button of online stores and
are willing to pay a premium for quality products.
China counted 225,000 bookstores and sales As such, the present Chinese children’s book
outlets for books at the end of 2018, a 4.3-percent market has diversified beyond its traditional fare
increase from the previous year. The total sales of multivolume nonfiction series and educational
revenue of publications in China reached about titles. Higher-priced toy- and game-based board
US$54.1 billion, up 5.9 percent year on year. books, novelty titles, activity kits, and large-format
Private bookstores played a significant part in the picture books, previously unpopular and deemed
development. New media also contributed to the unsalable, are now hot items. In fact, publications
growth, with major outlets such as Yitiao opening with a preschool-education slant are totally trendy.
brick-and-mortar bookstores in 2018 based on their Books with AR/VR elements are steadily gaining
high popularity. The revitalization of bookstores favor, as is middle grade fiction, a sector that owes a
in China was largely due to favorable policies lot of its growth to China’s education reform. While
unveiled in recent years. After a national guideline the reform won’t take effect until 2020, educators,
on supporting the bookstore industry was issued parents, and schools have already been pushing
in 2016, 28 provinces, autonomous regions and children to read more and to read for leisure in
municipalities also released relevant policies to order to increase their reading comprehension and
boost the industry. For instance, 50 million yuan acquire general knowledge—two focal points of the
of subsidies were distributed to 151 bookstores in reform. The resultant interest in middle grade fiction
Beijing since the release of the local guideline in July has many industry players anticipating that YA titles
2018 (Xinhua, Bookstores). will soon follow suit. Young urban-dwelling parents
also want their children to gain a global outlook
As yet this story does not have enough and an awareness of the environment, prompting
meat to make any firm assertions about a significant increase in titles depicting different
the Chinese publishing industry, generally cultures as well as animals, plants, and nature (Tan).
regarded as second to the US. But given the
boost in government support and subsidies, Publishing
and factoring in digital revenue, China may
have bumped the USA to become the biggest Several foreign publishers are looking for printers
publishing market both by output and by outside China after falling foul of censorship
revenue. in 2019. That may not be as far-fetched laws that require maps to be vetted. A number of
as it at first sounds. With a population of 1.4 businesses have been hit by delays or cancellations
billion and 800 million internet users it was even if the books in question are not intended for
always just a matter of time. China’s publishing
338
compared with 15,000 in 1978. A total of 9.24 industry has been growing by leaps and bounds
billion copies were printed, generating a total sales while the US is at best stable (Williams).
volume of US$ 53.5 billion. Since the reform and
opening up, China’s publishing industry has evolved Books for children is the golden goose. The oft-
in areas of management, ownership, supplies of quoted numbers remain as compelling as ever: 370
cultural products and services and integration with million people under the age of 18, an additional
other sectors, said NPPA official Liu Xiaokai at an 17.5 million babies born annually, and at least 600
event commemorating the publishing industry’s active publishers in the children’s book industry.
development this week. Physical bookstores in China Plus, 60 percent of China’s 1.4 billion people now
have taken the path of integrated development and live in urban areas, up dramatically from barely
transformation and upgrading, thanks to favorable 20 percent four decades ago. And at least 76
policies introduced in recent years. It has also become percent of this burgeoning urban population (or
a main-stream trend for bookstores to promote the 500 million people) will be middle class by 2020.
integration of online and offline stores. Meanwhile, Parents in this demographic—young, demanding,
multiple publishing patterns, including traditional discerning, globally minded, and sophisticated—are
printed publishing and emerging electronic, digital, also used to trawling the internet and parenting
internet and big data publishing, have changed the platforms for tips. They also don’t hesitate to
way of reading (Xinhua, Industry Booming). click the “Add to cart” button of online stores and
are willing to pay a premium for quality products.
China counted 225,000 bookstores and sales As such, the present Chinese children’s book
outlets for books at the end of 2018, a 4.3-percent market has diversified beyond its traditional fare
increase from the previous year. The total sales of multivolume nonfiction series and educational
revenue of publications in China reached about titles. Higher-priced toy- and game-based board
US$54.1 billion, up 5.9 percent year on year. books, novelty titles, activity kits, and large-format
Private bookstores played a significant part in the picture books, previously unpopular and deemed
development. New media also contributed to the unsalable, are now hot items. In fact, publications
growth, with major outlets such as Yitiao opening with a preschool-education slant are totally trendy.
brick-and-mortar bookstores in 2018 based on their Books with AR/VR elements are steadily gaining
high popularity. The revitalization of bookstores favor, as is middle grade fiction, a sector that owes a
in China was largely due to favorable policies lot of its growth to China’s education reform. While
unveiled in recent years. After a national guideline the reform won’t take effect until 2020, educators,
on supporting the bookstore industry was issued parents, and schools have already been pushing
in 2016, 28 provinces, autonomous regions and children to read more and to read for leisure in
municipalities also released relevant policies to order to increase their reading comprehension and
boost the industry. For instance, 50 million yuan acquire general knowledge—two focal points of the
of subsidies were distributed to 151 bookstores in reform. The resultant interest in middle grade fiction
Beijing since the release of the local guideline in July has many industry players anticipating that YA titles
2018 (Xinhua, Bookstores). will soon follow suit. Young urban-dwelling parents
also want their children to gain a global outlook
As yet this story does not have enough and an awareness of the environment, prompting
meat to make any firm assertions about a significant increase in titles depicting different
the Chinese publishing industry, generally cultures as well as animals, plants, and nature (Tan).
regarded as second to the US. But given the
boost in government support and subsidies, Publishing
and factoring in digital revenue, China may
have bumped the USA to become the biggest Several foreign publishers are looking for printers
publishing market both by output and by outside China after falling foul of censorship
revenue. in 2019. That may not be as far-fetched laws that require maps to be vetted. A number of
as it at first sounds. With a population of 1.4 businesses have been hit by delays or cancellations
billion and 800 million internet users it was even if the books in question are not intended for
always just a matter of time. China’s publishing
338
