The Chinese version of Nicolas Sarkozy's new book has been published in China ahead of his first state visit to the nation since he became French president in May.

More than 5,000 copies of the book, entitled Testimony, are to go on sale in major bookstores in Beijing and Shanghai starting Tuesday or Wednesday, said Gu Jinliang, a distribution manager of the Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House, the Chinese publisher of the book.

"We hope Chinese readers can learn more about the new French president and France through the 215-page book," Gu said Monday.

Five thousand copies of the book have been produced ahead of the visit.

"If the book sells well, we'll publish more," Gu said.

The book was translated by Cao Songhao, a senior Chinese translator who has previously rendered into Chinese the biographies of three former French presidents: Charles de Gaulle, Francois Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac.

Sarkozy will pay a state visit to China from November 25 to 27 at the invitation of Chinese President Hu Jintao, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao announced last week.

Liu told a regular press briefing that the visit will be an important event for China-France relations.

Since the original version of Testimony was published in July 2006, the book has sold more than 300,000 copies in France alone.

In the book, the 52-year-old Sarkozy recounts how he pushed through difficult reforms as a minister, describes his plans for further reforms during his presidency, talks about his political opponents, and discusses his relationships with Chirac and Cecilia, Sarkozy's briefly estranged wife.
 
(Xinhua News Agency November 20, 2007)