The 2023 Belt and Road Publishing Cooperative Forum and the first China-Central Asia Publishing Cooperative Forum, which is themed “Deepening International Publishing Cooperation and Implementing Global Civilization Initiative”, were held in Astana, Kazakhstan on October 24. The forum, which was included in the list of multilateral cooperation outcome documents of the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation , is another landmark achievement made by China Renmin University Press under the Belt and Road Initiative.
The forum was hosted by Renmin University of China and L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, and organized by China Renmin University Press, the News Center of L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Belt and Road Publishing Cooperative, and the International Cultural Exchange Academic Alliance, under the guidance of the National Press and Publication Administration of China. Zhang Donggang, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Renmin University of China, and Xing Fangfang, Chargé d’affaires ad interim of the Chinese Embassy in Kazakhstan, attended the forum and delivered speeches. Makysh Serik, Vice-Rector for Scientific Research of L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University; Duman Remazan, Vice-Rector for International Cooperation; Li Yongqiang and others attended the forum. More than 70 people including representatives of publishing institutions from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan , teachers and students attended the forum.
In his speech, Zhang Donggang said that the convening of this forum is a key measure for the publishing industry to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative and to study and meet the requirements of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. It is hoped that China Renmin University Press and the Belt and Road Publishing Cooperative will continue to play the important role as a bridge, uphold the coexistence of civilizations, and carry forward the cultural heritage of China and Central Asian countries; foster win-win cooperation and deepen cultural exchanges between China and Central Asian countries; promote exchanges and mutual learning, and facilitate the common development of China and Central Asian countries.
Xing Fangfang spoke highly of the effort of China Renmin University Press, as the first university press after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, to initiate the establishment of the Belt and Road Publishing Cooperative, which provides a pragmatic and efficient national cooperation platform for publishing cultural exchanges between China and other countries relevant to the Belt and Road Initiative. She said that since its establishment, the publishing cooperative has made useful explorations and done productive work, which has promoted the cooperation among countries relevant to Belt and Road Initiative in the fields of higher education, book translation and publishing.
Makysh Serik said that China Renmin University Press and the Eurasian National University Press have always maintained a close cooperative relationship, and that the two sides have arranged mutual visits many times and jointly carried out cultural exchange activities at the Eurasian International Book Fair. He looked forward to deeper exchanges and cooperation in more areas between the two universities and the presses, and the building of a closer community with a shared future. He hoped that China and Kazakhstan deepen cooperation in the field of higher education, contributing more to promoting bilateral and multilateral educational cooperation and exchanges.
Li Yongqiang, as the chairman of the Publishing Cooperative, gave a report on the development outcomes of the Publishing Cooperative with the theme of “promoting cultural connectivity and mutual assistance for high-quality publishing development in the countries relevant to the Belt and Road Initiative”. He said that since its establishment, the Cooperative has made great contributions to high-quality development of publishing in the countries relevant to the Belt and Road Initiative in line with the guiding principles of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s speech. First of all, the Cooperative promotes the spirit of peace and cooperation and builds an open platform for international cooperation in publishing, and has received positive response and support from publishing institutions in the countries relevant to the Belt and Road Initiative. Second, the cooperative promotes the spirit of openness and inclusiveness and carries out multilateral dialogue and exchanges among civilizations, which have promoted understanding and business contacts among members. Third, the Cooperative promotes the spirit of mutual learning, advances the integration of Chinese and foreign civilizations, and leverages books as a platform to promote book publishing exchanges between China and foreign countries. Finally, the cooperative promotes the spirit of win-win results, and fosters publishing cooperation among member units, especially those in Central Asia. He said that the Cooperative will continue to keep its finger on the pulse of the times and carry out cultural exchanges and cooperation at different levels for higher-standard Belt and Road cooperation in publishing.
This forum will promote publishing cooperation among countries relevant to the Belt and Road initiative in more areas at higher levels. During the forum, the China-Central Asia Publishing Cooperative was established under the framework of the Belt and Road Publishing Cooperative, and publishers in five Central Asian countries made positive responses and issued a joint declaration. The participants said that there is great potential for publishing cooperation between China and Central Asian countries, and said they are ready to leverage the role of the China-Central Asia Publishing Cooperative mechanism to increase the scale of publishing cooperation across the board, and promote publishers from participating countries to brainstorm ideas, discuss business and exchange experiences through publishing exchange events. At the same time, the Kazakh and Uzbek editions of “Research on Chinese Modernization” (Volume I) were released at the forum. It shares the stories of Chinese modernization to Central Asian countries, providing reference for the modernization of Central Asia.
The “Research on Chinese Modernization”, edited by Zhang Donggang, Secretary of the Party Committee of Renmin University of China, and Liu Wei, former President, represents the interpretation and explanation of the theoretical and practical issues on “Chinese-style modernization” by the high-standard philosophy and social science research team of Renmin University of China. Focusing on “Chinese-style modernization”, the book systematically studies and analyzes the historical experience, theoretical logic, practical issues, and future direction of socialist modernization, and offers an interpretation of China’s road, China’s governance, and China’s philosophy. The copyright of English, Kazakh, Uzbek and Malay versions of the “Research on Chinese Modernization” has been sold by now