The Sharjah Book Authority, SBA, has been recognised with the ‘Exhibitor Excellence Award’ at the 24th edition of the Beijing International Book Fair, BIBF, from among 2,500 exhibiting publishers representing 89 countries.

Key Chinese publishers learned about Sharjah Publishing City, which will soon be host to 320 publishers and distributors after its inauguration in the final quarter of 2017. The publishers showed keen interest in carrying out their Middle Eastern operations from Sharjah, using the emirate and its robust infrastructure as a base from which to move out into regional and global markets.

At the fair, the SBA organised a series of meetings with a host of Chinese and international publishing representatives, printing firms, and rights and translation agents from around the world, advising them on how to reach into the UAE and Arab markets.

The SBA stand was visited by senior officials from various diplomatic and cultural foundations, including Mohammed Abdullah Al Shamsi, Charge d'Affaires of the UAE Embassy in China.

Salim Omar Salim, Director of Marketing and Sales at SBA, said, "China is the cradle of the paper and print industry, and with a 1.4 billion population, also the largest book market in the world. The country is known for employing a vast cache of expertise to expand publishing operations into more and more countries. Translation plays a crucial role here with its ability to transcend language barriers and enable people from different cultures to enjoy and appreciate Chinese works in their native language."

Salim emphasised that strong trade ties between the UAE and China, and between Sharjah and China in particular, influence a high degree of goodwill between the two, paving the way for fruitful, future collaborations in publishing.

The SBA has extended an invitation to representatives of dozens of Chinese and other Asian and international publishing houses to participate in the forthcoming edition of Sharjah International Book Fair, SIBF, which is due to run from 1st to 11th November this year.