From March 10 to 13, 2025, the London Book Fair—a flagship event in the global publishing industry—was held at the London Olympia Exhibition Centre. Wang Fang, Secretary of the CPC Committee of FLTRP Group, Chair of the Board of FLTRP Group, President of FLTRP, led a delegation to participate in the fair, engaging in in-depth discussions with leading international publishers to drive innovation and cooperation in cultural and educational exchanges between China, UK, and the global community.
Deepening Collaboration, Charting a Shared Future
On March 10, the FLTRP delegation visited the headquarters of HarperCollins Publishers. The year 2025 marks the 20th anniversary of the original publication of their flagship collaborative product, Big Cat, and the 10th anniversary of its localized Chinese edition. During the meeting, President Wang Fang and Alex Beecroft, Managing Director of Collins Learning, reviewed the success of Big Cat in global and Chinese markets, reaching an agreement to jointly organize a series of anniversary celebrations and promotional campaigns in 2025.The two sides also explored expanding cooperation in digital publishing, Chinese cultural publications, and anti-piracy efforts, further broadening the scope and depth of their future partnership.
On the same day, the FLTRP delegation held discussions with Paul Colbert, Deputy Managing Director, Commercial Director, English, Cambridge University Press & Assessment (CUP&A) and Jon Grant, Head of English Solutions, Key Accounts • Commercial，Cambridge University Press & Assessment (CUP&A). President Wang Fang outlined the evolving trends in China’s English learning market and highlighted the market performance of jointly published products. Paul Colbert praised FLTRP’s outstanding contributions to foreign language education in China and reaffirmed CUPA’s commitment to strengthening the strategic partnership with FLTRP.Both parties agreed to continue advancing the localization of English learning resources and the integration of print and digital formats, while exploring new opportunities in assessment and testing, building a comprehensive partnership encompassing language education, digital innovation, and assessment solutions.
On March 11, President Wang Fang engaged in in-depth discussions with Emma Bourne, Managing Director of Curriculum and Asia/MENA, Macmillan Education, and other representatives from Springer Nature and Macmillan Education on innovative collaborations in educational publishing and future trends in education. Both parties agreed that digitalization is profoundly transforming the educational landscape, rendering traditional publishing models inadequate to meet the demands of modern education.The development of digital educational resources, they emphasized, relies on advanced technologies while balancing the needs of globalization and localization to enhance user experience for teachers and students and to improve learning outcomes.Over the past two decades, FLTRP and Macmillan Education have jointly created a series of high-quality educational products and services, exemplified by New Standard English, which has become a benchmark for Sino-foreign collaboration in educational publishing. Moving forward, the two sides pledged to address the evolving educational ecosystem and shifts in learning methodologies. By leveraging digital empowerment, they aim to elevate strategic cooperation and drive the digital and intelligent transformation of global educational publishing.
Culture as Bridge, Continuinganother Decade of Excellence
On March 11, President Wang Fang attended the board meeting of the Confucius Institute co-established by FLTRP and Oxford Brookes University (referred to as "CIOBU"). As 2025 marks the 10th anniversary of the CIOBU, President Wang Fang reviewed its remarkable achievements over the past decade in promoting Chinese language education and cultural exchange during the meeting. She also renewed the cooperation agreement with OBU on behalf of FLTRP.Both President Wang Fang and Alistair Fitt, ViceChancellor of OBU, emphasized that both parties will continue to drive innovation and progress in Chinese language education by supporting the development of the CIOBU, and further contribute to educational and cultural exchanges between China and the UK by leveraging their publishing expertise.
Global Vision, Shaping the Future of Publishing Together
During the book fair, President Wang Fang also attended the Frankfurt Book Fair International Advisory Board Meeting. As a key think tank for the global publishing industry, the committee brings together representatives from the international publishing community. At the meeting, President Wang Fang shared FLTRP’s experiences in digital transformation and international expansion, and engaged in in-depth discussions with participants on future trends in global publishing as well as innovative reforms for the Frankfurt Book Fair.
Curated Exhibition, Highlighting Chinese Heritage
At this year’s London Book Fair, FLTRP set up a dedicated display within the China Joint Stand, showcasing over 50 premium titles. These included newly published editions of Understanding Xi Jinping’s Educational Philosophy in English, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, and French, as well as works such as Key Concepts in Chinese Thoughtand Culture, Rainbow Dragon Graded Chinese Readers, Discover China, “Reading China”Graded Readers, and Lisheng English Graded Readers on Traditional Chinese Culture. The collection spanned diverse fields, including China-themed works, humanities and social sciences, Chinese culture, language learning, and children’s literature.
Taking the London Book Fair as an opportunity, FLTRP will further strengthen collaboration with the international publishing community to advance the global dissemination of high-quality content. FLTRP remains committed to fostering cultural exchanges between China and other nations and driving innovation in the global educational publishing industry.
