When Wu Ming, a publishing house editor, arrived at this year’s Beijing Book Fair on January 20, he was taken aback not only by the huge crowds in attendance, but also the stylish design of exhibition booths and great number of new titles on display. Much more organized and professionally run than previous Beijing Book Fairs, the largest fair of its kind in the country, this year saw 1,935 booths wedged into the International Exhibition Center, 300 more than in 2004. Many publishing houses grabbed the opportunity to give publicity to the new books they are going to publish this year, with both hands.

Under China’s WTO commitments, the Chinese Government has been loosening control over many industries, including the publishing industry in which competition will become fiercer with introduction of international competitors. Under such circumstances, many Chinese publishing houses long used to a comfort zone of high demand resulting from the country’s large population are accelerating reforms to snatch a bigger share of the country’s massive book market. They have quickly come to realize more attention must be paid to factors that affect the market, specifically consumer preferences.

Establishing Publishing Groups

On January 25, the Yunnan Publishing Group came into being, ending decades of confusion that had existed between the government functions and business management in the Yunnan publishing industry.

The newly founded publishing group is made up of all the publishing companies that used to fall directly under the Yunnan Provincial Bureau of Press and Publication, including one printing corporation, one distribution group and three publishing houses that earn tens of millions of yuan in annual profits.

According to its development plan, the Yunnan Publishing Group will manage its wholly owned subsidiaries and holding companies through property management and stock ownership. The group has also implemented a contract employment system. Such reforms have heralded a synergy within the group leading to a more standardized business operation. The main scope of business includes publication, printing, distribution, logistics and copyright trade of books, newspapers, periodicals, audio-visual publications, electronic publications, software and websites. Through increasing its profitability and strength and adopting scientific management methods, the group aims to become a comprehensive publishing group that is influential in Yunnan Province and China as a whole.

To enhance its competitiveness, the Chinese publishing industry initiated the process of setting up publishing groups as early as March 29, 2003, when Liaoning Publishing Group, the first of its kind, totally divorced from the local government publication authorities, announced its establishment.