Sponsored by China International Publishing Group (CIPG), the online book fair will be undertaken by www.china.com.cn and the China International Book Trading Corporation. It aims to provide publishers and distributors with an electronic business platform integrating copyright trading information and transaction and exhibition. To this end, it will provide online visitors with timely and comprehensive information on copyright trading and books as well as instant and easy search facilities and secure online ordering services. There will be a special forum on the website for readers to exchange views with noted authors. In addition, the website will provide a wholesale platform for domestic publishing houses to conduct copyright and book transactions with overseas counterparts and distributors.

Many publishing houses at home and abroad have signed up to participate in the book fair. They include Shanghai Classics Publishing House, Shanghai Pictorial Publishing House, Tianjin Classics Publishing House, Jilu Press, Jilin Literature and History Publishing House, Jiangsu Classics Publishing House, Cathay BookShop Publishing House as well as US-based China Books and Periodicals Inc, the Great Wall and Hong Kong Peace Books Company. Participation in this online book fair is free of charge with various publishing houses have shown great interest, and participating units expected to outnumber 100.

The online book fair is to be the first of its kind in China. Compared with traditional book fairs, the online event will have the advantage of allowing participants no regional restriction, low trading costs, simple organizational work, as well as being safe and easy to attend. Its wholesale platform will be a good example of integrating traditional methods of distribution with Internet marketing and e-commerce transactions.

(China.org.cn July 14, 2003)