Liu Binjie, vice director of the Press and Publication
Administration, has indicated that the central government has
ordered structural reform for state-level publishing houses.
Nearly all of the publishing units will be transformed into
enterprises.
The People's Publishing House, the only exception to the makeover
order, will maintain its organization and identity as a public
service operation.
Liu said the move is to keep the publishing sector in line with
industrial modernization, and will serve as a trial for broader
reforms in the culture and entertainment sectors this year. As a
first step, the State Council has approved the transformation of
the former China Publishing Group into China Publishing Group
Corporation.
At present there are 527 publishing houses nationwide. In 2002
alone they published 171,000 titles, printing a total of 6.9
billion volumes. Although some publishers have modernized their
operations during the past few years, traditional planned economy
mechanisms have remained largely in place in this industry.
Liu Bo, head of the Distribution Management Department under the
Press and Publication Administration, said that the joint stock
restructuring of Xinhua Book Store will be completed by the end of
this year. Under China's WTO agreements, the book retail market
will open to foreign companies from December 1. Investment stakes
will no longer be restricted to below set levels, and investors
will be free to manage operations as they see fit. At the same
time, hurdles for private domestic companies will fall.
According to a survey conducted by the China Publishing Science
Institute, at least 20 to 30 larger private book companies
throughout China are operating successfully. Most have design and
publishing as well as retail operations.
(China.org.cn by Wang Ruyue, April 6, 2004)
