The 12th Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF) opened yesterday at the China International Exhibition Center.

This annual event is co-sponsored by China's General Administration of Press and Publication (National Copyright Administration of China), the State Council Information Office, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science and Technology, the Beijing Municipal Government and the Publishers Association of China.

For the first time in the fair's history, organizers decided to include an Invitee of Honor. France was chosen as this year's "VIP".

Over 1,000 publishers and representatives from more than 10 countries including China, South Korea, Japan, Spain, France, Germany are participating in the fair.

Organizers are taking this opportunity to promote the Chinese Publication's International Expansion Project, which aims to encourage foreign publishers to translate Chinese works for distribution in their countries.

The Special Contribution Award for China Publications has also been introduced to recognize publishers, translators and authors who promote Chinese culture through literature copyright export.  

The fair is open to trade visitors only until Saturday, and to the public from Sunday.

(CRI, China.org.cn, September 2, 2005)