China's university presses press on with going global strategy

World's experts and scholars in academic publishing called for further co-publishing to disseminate knowledge worldwide as China's university presses pledged to keep tapping global markets to make nation's academies better-known.

Lu Dongming, professor of information science of Zhejiang University and President of Zhejiang University Press at the forum.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Lu Dongming, professor of information science of Zhejiang University and President of Zhejiang University Press, said a world publishing community of global university presses is at the forefront of finding solutions to human being's common challenges including climate change, environment, security and health.

"The academic publishing world needs to come up with common selection of subjects to publish so as to tackle human being's common challenges, " Lu said during an academic publishing forum jointly held by Zhejiang University Press (ZJUP), Princeton University Press and China National Publications Import & Export (Group) Corporation (CNPIEC) on sideline of the 2017 Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF).

Al Bertrand, general editor and deputy director of Princeton University, said the historical obligation of academic press is to maintain academic excellence as well as to diffuse knowledge worldwide.

Founded in 1984, ZJUP is one of the nation's leading publishers with over 1,000 new titles every year covering journals, academic, trade and popular books. It established international liaison desk in 2015 with the aim to tap international business.

Al Bertrand, general editor and deputy director of Princeton University at the forum.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Urban Health and Wellbeings (2016), a series targeting world's common urban problems, and Food Quality and Safety (2017), the first journal of its kind in the nation co-compiled by ZJUP and Oxford University Press (OUP) , are main fruits of ZJUP's "Going out" strategy.

ZJUP's first books on the Belt and Road titles were launched during the book fair under the nationwide campaign. The series covers disciplines including archaeology, arts, religion and law of the countries along the Belt and Road route in more than 10 languages such as English, Spanish, Russian, Turkish and Bengali.

Among the Belt and Road series, Belt and Road reading books in Turkish and Russian language and The Land of Tea in English and Bengali were hot for grab at the book fair.

Shan Lie, deputy director of Zhejiang provincial administration of press, publication, radio, film and television, said human environment of mutual-appreciation and mutual-respect is foundation to achieve success of the initiative.

According to Shan, more than 100 titles of the series covering different areas of the countries along the Belt and Road route are scheduled to be published by ZJUP during the 13th Five-Year Plan Period (2016-2020).