XI’S NEW BOOK REACHES GLOBAL READERS

By Zhong Xinmin

Second volume of The Governance of China already translated into English, editions in a multitude of other languages expected soon

From Nov. 30 to Dec. 3, 2017,the Communist Party of China(CPC) in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-level Meeting was held in Beijing.Another international event that took place in early December was the 2017 Fortune Global Forum in Guangzhou. Both of the events included an exhibition area for the book Xi Jinping: The Governance of China (Volume II) at their venues, the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse and the Shangri-La Hotel, respectively. Delegates of the events enjoyed reading the book and sharing their views on the book with other participants.

“When I talked about the new volume of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China with other delegates, all of them agreed that this book provides parties and political organizations around the world with a straightforward approach to the understanding of the CPC’s governing philosophy,”said Zheng Yongnian, director of the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore,when attending the dialogue meeting.

About the Book

Major publishing houses from 16 countries sign memorandums of understanding(MoU) with Foreign Languages Press under China International Publishing Group to translate and publish the second volume of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, on Nov.27, 2017.

The second volume of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China,with a total of 569 pages in the original Chinese version,contains a compilation of 99 of Xi’s spoken and written works from Aug. 18, 2014 to Sept. 29,2017, along with 29 related photos. It is divided into 17 sections by topic with the articles in each section arranged in chronological order. Compared to the first volume published in September 2014, this new volume has added 20 additional articles and 100 more pages with the reduction of one section, one appendix and 16 pictures.

During a launch seminar for the book held in Beijing on Nov. 24, 2017, Wang Xiaohui,executive deputy director of the Policy Research Office of the CPC Central Committee and deputy head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee,noted that the two volumes of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China are a reflection of the evolution,main content and the essence of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, as well as a profound record of how the CPC Central Committee, with Xi at the core,has worked hard to achieve major theoretical innovations.

The 19th CPC National Congress pointed out that Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era makes eight fundamental issues clear and puts forward 14 basic policies that underpin the CPC’s endeavors to uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era.All these core ideas have been collected in the newly-published volume.

“Xi is good at expressing hisviews and understanding of major issues in light of China’s history and culture as well as his personal experiences,” said Sun Yeli, deputy director of the Party Literature Research Office of the CPC Central Committee.“He is also good at telling stories about China and the Party and including classical allusions in an insightful and penetrating way. His vivid and colloquial language style has a strong appeal and reveals his charisma.”

Stacks of the newlypublished book on exhibition at the MoU signing ceremony held on Nov. 27, 2017.

Xi’s new book not only reveals his governance thoughts,but also his personality and style of leadership.

According to Jiang Hui, a senior researcher at the Institute of Information Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the two volumes together serve as a guiding Marxist document and enrich CPC theories, shedding light on the new concepts,thoughts and strategies of the Party in developing socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era under the leadership of Xi.

Xi’s new book not only reveals his governance thoughts, but also his personality and style of leadership. The keywords“modernization” and “national rejuvenation” appear in the

book more than 60 and 50 times,respectively. Every aspect concerning the Five-point Strategy and the Four-pronged Strategy is discussed in a separate section, while articles themed on confidence in the path, theory,system and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics run through the whole compilation. The book also collects Xi’s views on the issue of ensuring Party leadership over all work in an article titled “CPC Leadership Is Essential to Chinese Socialism”,reading, “The Party exercises overall leadership over all areas of endeavor in every part of the country” and “we must remain committed to the Party’s core role in exercising overall leadership and coordinating the efforts of all”.

More Foreign Editions to Come

On Nov. 27, 2017, major publishing houses from 16 countries signed memorandums of understanding with Foreign Languages Press (FLP) under China International Publishing Group (CIPG) to translate and publish the second volume of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China.

Representatives from Italy,Poland, Ukraine, Albania,Romania, Kenya, Tajikistan,Vietnam, Pakistan, Bangladesh,Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia,Nepal, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan attended the signing ceremony.Well-known publishing organizations of ASEAN member states at the event included Khmer Press of Cambodia,the State Publishing and Book Distribution House of Laos and the National Political Publishing House of Vietnam.

According to CIPG President Zhang Fuhai, with Chinese and English versions already published, translations of the new volume into other languages are now underway and are soon to be released. Many more influential publishing houses from other countries are looking forward to cooperation with FLP in the publication of versions in local languages.

“CIPG is ready to work closely with our overseas partners in introducing this great work to the world,” Zhang said. “The book opens a new window for foreign readers to better understand Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, as well as the path, theory, system and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics. It also helps promote Sino-foreign cultural exchange and governance experience sharing.”

In coordination with the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and the Party Literature Research Office of the CPC Central Committee,CIPG assigned a number of editors with rich experience in international communication to take part in compiling the Chinese version. To ensure the quality of the English version,a 26-member translation team was organized by CIPG,consisting of senior translators,editors and top-notch language consultants from both home and abroad. Currently, a total of 114 experienced translators are working hard on versions of the book in seven other languages,namely French, German,Spanish, Russian, Arabic,Japanese and Portuguese.

So far, the first volume of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China has sold 6.6 million copies in 24 languages around the world since it was first published in 2014, a record-high circulation for the CPC and state leaders’ works since China’s reform and opening up began around 40 years ago.