From March 10th to 12th, 2026, the 29th London Book Fair (LBF) was held at the Olympia London Exhibition Center. Deputy Editor-in-Chief Peng Donglin led the FLTRP delegation to the fair, holding meetings with numerous internationally renowned publishing institutions. Discussions centered on deepening cooperation in academic and educational publishing, applying digitalization and AI technologies, building reading and language learning resources, and promoting Chinese content internationally.
On March 10th, the FLTRP delegation met with Alex Beecroft, Managing Director of Collins Learning, and relevant executives. They consulted on upgrading cooperation for the "Big Cat" project, its digital development, and anti-piracy efforts. The "Big Cat" series has seen significant growth in the Chinese market in recent years, with both parties establishing close collaboration in print publishing, digital licensing, and customized projects. The meeting focused on advancing a comprehensive "package" of cooperation, including IP operation, customized editions, third-party platform licensing, and digital collaboration. Both sides were committed to jointly driving the long-term development and innovative expansion of the project in China, injecting new momentum into disseminating high-quality international educational resources and building a global children's reading ecosystem.
On the same day, Mr Peng Donglin also met with Niels Peter Thomas, President of Springer Nature Greater China and Managing Director of Springer Nature Books Division. They exchanged views on multimedia dissemination of academic publications on Chinese themes. Both parties expressed their intent to strengthen collaboration in applying digital technologies and multimedia formats to promote more outstanding Chinese academic achievements to the international scholarly community in innovative ways, further enhancing the global influence of Chinese academia. In the meeting with Macmillan Education, Emma Bourne, Global Managing Director Curriculum, reviewed the long-term achievements in ELT, bilingual subject education, and international Chinese language education. They discussed the progress made in the "New Standard English" project regarding new edition textbook publishing, digital development, and multi-format resource development. Both sides decided to deepen cooperation in print-digital integration, digital licensing, and the promotion of international Chinese language textbooks, aiming to bring more high-quality educational products with international influence to fruition.
On March 11th, during talks with Melissa Fulkerson, SVP Books and Longform Content of Taylor & Francis, Mr Peng Donglin outlined FLTRP's overall strategy for academic publishing, international dissemination of Chinese content, and digital development, while also sharing the latest trends in higher education and subject specialization upgrades. Melissa Fulkerson highly commended the productive cooperation between the two parties since 1999, particularly praising the positive impact of key projects like the "Key Topics Library" (KT Library)" in international academic communication. Both sides agreed to further expand topic planning and promotion in area studies and interdisciplinary fields, and to actively explore innovative cooperative models driven by digital publishing and AI technology.
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In a meeting with Professor Angus Phillips, Director of Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies and Director of the Confucius Institute at Oxford Brookes University, Mr Peng Donglin fully acknowledged the significant achievements of the Confucius Institute in the 2025 fiscal year. He highlighted its exceptional innovation in operational compliance, resource building, cultural dissemination, and two-way exchange, especially amidst challenges posed by changing policy environments. Both sides expressed their commitment to maintaining close cooperation, further strengthening collaboration in publishing education, international Chinese resource development, joint cultural projects, and talent cultivation, continuously advancing Sino-UK educational and cultural exchanges to a higher level.
During the fair, the FLTRP delegation specially visited Julia Alexander, wife of Louis Alexander (author of New Concept English) and author of Junior New Concept English herself, a renowned English education expert. They discussed directions for the digital upgrade of the New Concept English series, expanding intelligent learning scenarios, and new product development. Both parties reached a consensus on promoting content innovation and multi-format integration for the New Concept English system in the new era, creating new avenues for cooperation in the digital renewal and product system upgrade of this classic textbook series.
Additionally, the FLTRP delegation held meetings with multiple partners including Oxford University Press, Klett Group, Hachette Group, and Singing Grass UK. They engaged in in-depth discussions on cooperation and resource expansion for English readers, digital upgrades for multilingual textbooks, collaborative compilation of popular science readers, and overseas promotion of international Chinese resources, reaching a series of new cooperative intentions.
FLTRP set up an independent display stand within the China Collective Stand at the London Book Fair, showcasing over 60 carefully selected titles. These included multilingual editions of Understanding Xi Jinping’s Educational Philosophy and the Outline of Plan for Building China into a Leading Country in Education, as well as key publications like New HSK Course, Key Concepts in Chinese Thought and Culture, Rainbow Dragon Chinese Graded Readers, Reading China, and Lisheng Chinese Culture English Graded Readers. Covering fields such as China-themed content, humanities & social sciences, language learning, and children's reading, the display attracted widespread attention from attendees.
This year's London Book Fair focused on industry hotspots such as "AI and the Future of Publishing," "Reshaping Reading Culture," and "Cross-Regional Collaboration Opportunities," reflecting new trends towards intelligent, international, and diversified development in the publishing industry. Against the backdrop of publishing globalization, FLTRP's active participation and extensive engagement at this fair further consolidated its position on the international publishing stage, holding significant importance for deepening exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and foreign publishing communities and promoting publishing innovation and the international dissemination of high-quality Chinese content.
