On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the “Belt and Road” Initiative, China Renmin University Press, as the major organizer of the China-Kyrgyzstan Classics Mutual Translation Project, has thoroughly implemented the spirit of the important speech delivered by President Xi Jinping at the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, in order to further deepen the cooperation between the organizers and undertakers of the project from China and Kyrgyzstan, and effectively raise publishing cooperation and cultural communication to a higher level. Mr. Li Yongqiang, Chair of Press Council and Chairman of the Board of China Renmin University Press, led a delegation to visit the National Book Bureau of Kyrgyzstan, the National Academy of Sciences of Kyrgyzstan and the Humanities Publishing House of Kyrgyzstan, and established strategic project partnerships with Xinjiang University Press and Jiangsu Qiuzhen Yilin Publishing Co.
On October 27, 2023, local time, Chairman Li Yongqiang visited the National Book Bureau of Kyrgyzstan and met with Director General Koizuman Kazakovich. The two sides had an in-depth exchange of views on Kyrgyzstan’s publication administration system, as well as the development of the publishing industry in the two countries and the cooperation and exchanges between publishing enterprises. Chairman Li Yongqiang introduced the basic situation of China Renmin University Press to Mr. Kazakovich, and expressed his wishes to cooperate with the National Book Bureau of Kyrgyzstan to jointly promote the mutual translation of publications and exchanges of personnel between the two countries, and to organize and carry out publicity and promotional activities around the China-Kyrgyzstan Classics Mutual Translation Project. Director Kazakovich responded positively to Chairman Li Yongqiang’s suggestion and hoped to carry out cooperation on mutual translation of various categories such as education, literature and children’s books.
On the same day, Chairman Li Yongqiang also visited the National Academy of Sciences of Kyrgyzstan and met with Academician Kanatbek Abdrakhmatov, President of the National Academy of Sciences of Kyrgyzstan, and Academician Akmataliyev Abduldajan Ematovich, Director of the Institute of Languages and Literature. President Abdrakhmatov actively supported the initiatives of China and Kyrgyzstan in the field of civilization exchange and mutual learning, and considered the China-Kyrgyzstan Classics Mutual Translation Project to be of great significance. At the same time, he hoped that the Chinese and Kyrgyz teams of experts and publishers who preside over and implement the project would be able to make solid and gradual progress in accordance with the established implementation goals, so that the books of the China-Kyrgyzstan Classics Mutual Translation Project could become bridges and ties for scholars and young people of the two countries to get to know each other and get acquainted with each other. Chairman Li Yongqiang outlined the basic situation of China Renmin University Press, introduced in detail the progress of the first phase of the China-Kyrgyzstan Classics Mutual Translation Project, and shared the concepts and mechanisms of the Chinese organizers in the project’s publication management. He pointed out that the teams of experts from both China and Kyrgyzstan selected their respective time-honored classics to be translated and published, which fully demonstrated the beauty of the vibrant civilizations of China and Kyrgyzstan, and was an important way to realize the mutual appreciation of the civilizations of China and Kyrgyzstan, and to build a community of shared future for China and Kyrgyzstan.
Academician Ematovich, Kyrgyz Chairman of the special committee for the China-Kyrgyzstan Classics Mutual Translation Project, organized a special communication meeting between the Kyrgyz experts and the Chinese delegation led by Chairman Li Yongqiang. Ematovich appreciated the active efforts made by Chairman Li Yongqiang in promoting the China-Kyrgyzstan Classics Mutual Translation Project, as well as the rigorous and orderly working style of the Chinese project organizers. He also highlighted the international publication of Chingiz Aitmatov’s research works recommended by the Kyrgyz expert team, expecting that the publication of the Chinese version would introduce more Chinese readers to this great writer.
President Samat said that about 100 kinds of books supported by the China-Kyrgyzstan Classics Mutual Translation Project are being translated and published in an orderly manner, and as a publisher of Kyrgyzstan, the cooperation with the Chinese publishing undertakers is very pleasant. In the process of cooperation, the publishers of China and Kyrgyzstan have built up a brotherly friendship. During the meeting, Chairman Li Yongqiang and President Samat, in the presence of Director Ematovic, signed Kyrgyz copyright agreements for three books, namely Historical Materialism and Contemporary China, Economic Growth and Structural Evolution: China’s Experience since the New Era, and Towards the Rule of Law: From Legal System to the System of Rule of Law. All three books are included in the first batch of the China-Kyrgyzstan Classics Mutual Translation Project, and are expected to be published by the end of 2023.
Chairman Li Yongqiang, as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Belt and Road Publishing Cooperative, also conferred a member unit license to President Samat, and the Kyrgyz Humanities Publishing House became the 321st member unit of the Cooperative. The Belt and Road Publishing Cooperative will mobilize and integrate domestic and foreign publishing and media resources, and vigorously promote the publications of the China-Kyrgyzstan Classics Mutal Translation Project in Kyrgyzstan and even in Central Asia, so as to penetrate into the hearts and minds of the people and take root in the region.
On October 28, Beijing time, Chairman Li Yongqiang visited Xinjiang University Press, and signed the “Strategic Cooperation Agreement for Chinese Member Units of the China-Kyrgyzstan Cooperative Publishing Center for Mutual Translation of Asian Classics” with the Chairman of Xinjiang University Press, Mr. He Tan, and the General Manager of Jiangsu Qiuzhen Yilin Publishing Co, Mr. Huang Yongjun. The establishment of the China-Kyrgyzstan Cooperative Publishing Center for Mutual Translation of Asian Classics will help to rationalize the operation and management mechanism of the project, give full play to the advantages in translation and publication of each participating party, form a synergy of resources featuring mutual support and complement, and complete the China-Kyrgyzstan Classics Mutual Translation Project in a better and faster way.
Among the delegation were Wang Lei, Deputy General Manager of China Renmin University Press, and Liu Yehua, Director of the International Publishing Center.