China’s One Belt, One Road initiative, the burgeoning online reading phenomenon and the “fierce competition” among Chinese top publishers were just some of the topics discussed at two conferences in this week’s build-up to the Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF). 

One Belt, One Road is a strategy started in 2013 by Chinese president Xi Jingping in which China has pledged to invest around $40bn in countries along the Silk Road and Maritime Silk Road. How the initiative will apply to the book industry was the focus of the 2nd  International Communication Forum on Chinese Culture, run on 2...