Photo: Courtesy of China National Publications Import and Export (Group) Co., Ltd.

The 32nd Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF), a major cultural gala attracting over 1,700 exhibitors from 82 countries and regions worldwide, will welcome the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the guest of honor this year, the event's organizer said.

Scheduled to run from June 17 to 21 in Beijing, the annual fair will adopt the theme "Using Books as a Medium to Facilitate Communication and Dialogue, Leading to Cooperative Success for All Parties Involved." 

To showcase diverse global publishing resources and cultural charm, the fair has set up 27 joint booths for participating countries and regions, which will display fruitful publishing achievements and distinctive cultural highlights from around the world. Notably, multiple overseas cultural institutions will make their debut at this year's fair, further enriching the diversity and professionalism of the exhibition.

The selection of the UAE as this year's guest of honor marks a significant milestone in bilateral ties, timed to commemorate  the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Arab countries in 2026, Liu Simeng, an employee from the fair's organizing committee, told the Global Times.

At a press briefing held on Wednesday, UAE Ambassador to China Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi highlighted the profound significance of the country's guest-of-honor participation. 

He said that the UAE's participation in the BIBF as the guest of honor stands as an important milestone in the development of bilateral relations, adding that bilateral ties have maintained robust growth across all sectors. He added that this participation embodies a shared belief that culture and knowledge serve as core drivers of people-to-people connectivity and innovative cultural and creative cooperation.

The ambassador emphasized that accelerating cultural and knowledge exchanges between the two nations, coupled with the growing role of cultural and creative industries in boosting modern economic development, innovation and social communication, makes the upcoming book fair participation particularly valuable and far-reaching, China News reported.

Centered on the theme "Society and People," the UAE's pavilion covers an area of over 640 square meters. It will gather 27 official UAE institutions and organizations to showcase the country's diverse cultural heritage and remarkable achievements in publishing, translation and cultural and creative industries, fully demonstrating its soft power in cultural innovation and knowledge dissemination. 

This year's fair will witness continuous expansion of its global influence, with a total of more than 1,100 overseas exhibitors and over 600 domestic participants, according to the press release.

The fair has attracted participants from 10 more countries than last year. New participating countries include Hungary, Moldova, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia, further expanding the fair's international reach, according to the release. 

According to Liu, another highlight of this year's event is the debut of the Beijing International Literary Week. Renowned Chinese writers, including Wang Meng, Jidi Majia, Li Er and Shi Yifeng, will engage in in-depth dialogues with foreign writers, scholars and sinologists from countries such as the UK, Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Brazil and Mexico. 

The discussions will focus on literary creation, discipline development, creative talent cultivation and cross-cultural literary mutual learning, injecting new vitality into international literary exchanges.

Chen Li'ou, an employee from exhibitor Jieli Publishing House, told the Global Times on Thursday that the fair will also include a dedicated children's book zone, with a strong focus on promoting a selection of outstanding original titles. These cover a range of categories, from picture books and children's literature to children's science books. The publisher has also arranged in-person meet-and-greet events with children's authors, so that young readers can enjoy the book fair too.

The five-day exhibition will display 90,000 copyrighted books and 220,000 high-quality physical books, and host more than 1,000 online and offline cultural exchange activities. 

A 450-square-meter exhibition area dedicated to fine traditional Chinese classics will be set up to elevate copyright trade and cultural exchange, facilitating more Chinese publishing enterprises and outstanding publications to go global, the release noted.