Zhou Mingwei, executive vice president of the China International Publishing Group (CIPG) meets  Karl-Johan Lönnroth, director-general for translation at the European Commission on August 4,2008 in Shanghai,China. [China.org.cn]

Zhou Mingwei, executive vice president of the China International Publishing Group (CIPG) meets  Karl-Johan Lönnroth, director-general for translation at the European Commission on August 4,2008 in Shanghai,China. [China.org.cn]

Two significant figures in the world of communication sat down for a discussion about translation in Europe and China at the 18th World Congress of the International Federation of Translators (FIT) on August 4 in Shanghai.

Karl-Johan Lönnroth, director-general for translation at the European Commission, and Zhou Mingwei, executive vice president of the China International Publishing Group (CIPG), met for 45 minutes and covered a wide range of topics in the translation industry.

CIPG publishes over 1,000 titles a year in over 20 languages and help people of other countries understand China better. The European Commission is the executive branch of the European Union and has the largest public language service in the world.

The conversation was a chance for the two officials to exchange ideas and see how China and the European Union can work together in the area of translation. Each party expressed interest in forming a delegation and visiting the other in order to gain insight on how to improve services.

Zhou said that not only is language important, but also the culture behind it. He said that translation can help foreigners get a better understanding of China.

The use of technology was also a major topic. Lönnroth offered Zhou's organization access to a European Commission terminological database containing the definition and context of over 9 million words from various languages.

The meeting ended with both Lönnroth and Zhou enthusiastic about the idea of building a partnership in the field of translation between China and the European Commission.

"We are happy to share with you everything we know about our own structures and our own ways of working," Lönnroth said. "It has taken us 50 years to develop what we have now."