On August 28, 2026, the 2026 Forum on China-Africa Publishing Cooperation was successfully held in Jinan, Shandong Province, in a year marking the 70th anniversary of China-Africa diplomatic relations and designated as the "China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges." Organized by Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press (FLTRP), the secretariat unit of the China-Africa Publishing Association, the forum brought together nearly one hundred representatives from the publishing, academic, and cultural communities of China and Africa. The forum centered on two major themes: AI-empowered China-Africa publishing cooperation and mutual learning between Chinese and African civilizations.
The event featured in-depth exchanges among attendees including Guo Yiqiang, Vice Chairman of the Publishers Association of China and President of the China Book Review Society; Li Pengyi, Vice Chairman of the Publishers Association of China; Wang Liming, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the Publishers Association of China; Wu Bao’an, Executive Deputy Secretary-General of the Publishers Association of China; and Wang Fang, Chairman of the China-Africa Publishing Association, Secretary of the CPC Committee and Chair of the Board of FLTRP Group, and President of FLTRP. Multiple African member institutions of the association watched the forum via live streaming. The forum was moderated by Peng Donglin, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of FLTRP.
Keynote Forum: AI Empowering High-Quality Development and Innovative Communication in China-Africa Publishing Cooperation
Li Yongqiang, President of China University Presses Association (CUPA) and Secretary of the CPC Committee and Chair of the Board of China Renmin University Press, noted that artificial intelligence can empower mutual learning between Chinese and African civilizations in three dimensions—breaking down language barriers, enabling inclusive communication, and innovating cooperation paradigms. He expressed the vision of building an AI-driven new ecosystem for China-Africa publishing cooperation and contributing to the China-Africa community with a shared future.
James Ong’ang’a, CEO of LOHO Learning, Longhorn Publishers, remarked that the value of AI lies not in replacing teachers, but in giving time back to the classroom and returning education to its essence of nurturing people. Citing Kenya’s experience, he stressed that AI in Africa is not a distant concept but a practical infrastructure need rooted in classrooms and serving national educational goals.
Zhou Yixiang, Director and General Manager of China South Publishing & Media Group Co., Ltd, stated that his group will seize the opportunities of AI-driven technological change and deepen practical cooperation with Africa in four directions—co-creation of content, co-building of industries, cooperation in education, and co-building of brands—using publishing as a bridge to advance China-Africa cultural exchange and mutual learning.
Zhu Shengying, Secretary of the CPC Committee and Chair of the Board of Beijing Normal University Publishing Group, observed that AI is accelerating the quality upgrading of China-Africa civilizational exchange, and that educational publishing must transform toward intelligent educational products and high-quality educational services. He expressed readiness to develop and share premium digital educational content with African partners.
Asare Konadu Yamoah, President of Adaex Educational Publications Ltd of Ghana and Vice President of the African Publishers Network (APNET), noted that Africa brings linguistic and cultural diversity while China brings technological capability and experience of scale, making the two sides highly complementary. He looks forward to cooperating with Chinese counterparts within the association framework on AI publishing pilots, literary translation and digital adaptation, and the co-building of e-book and audiobook platforms to jointly shape the future of publishing.
Kiarie Kamau, CEO of East African Educational Publishers Ltd. of Kenya; Lamine Sarr, Partner and Publishing Director of Nouvelles Éditions Numériques Africaines (NENA) of Senegal; and Etienne Bankuwiha, Chinese Affairs Advisor at The Gusoma Editions, Burundi, participated via video link. They all agreed that China-Africa publishing Association is facing an unprecedented historic opportunity and that the establishment of the China-Africa Publishing Association comes at just the right time. They noted that the new round of technological transformation led by artificial intelligence provides a powerful driver for the translation and publication of books between China and Africa, as well as for international Chinese language education.
Roundtable Forum: Mutual Learning among Chinese and African Civilizations and Exchange on Governance Experience
Zhou Gongdai, Secretary of the CPC Committee of the China-Africa Institute, proposed promoting full-chain AI empowerment and establishing long-term mechanisms in direct translation of outcomes, digital infrastructure, talent cultivation, and cultural communication, so as to enhance the quality of China-Africa exchanges on governance experience and contribute to building the new era all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future.
Liu Chengfu, Executive Vice President of the Chinese Society for African Studies, called for translating and promoting African cultural works, particularly Francophone African literature, to present an authentic picture of African society and the historical threads of its civilizations. He expressed the hope that the China-Africa Publishing Association would build the China-Africa community with a shared future upon an independent knowledge system and contribute to world peace and stability.
Lawrence Njagi, President of the African Publishers Network (APNET) and Managing Director of Mountain Top Educational Publishers of Kenya, said that the two sides will jointly promote more book translation and co-publishing projects while extending the reach of quality educational resources, calling on China and Africa to write a new chapter of publishing cooperation together.
Ma Xiujie, Associate Professor at the School of African Studies, BFSU; Mamisoa Rakotoarivony, Malagasy-language foreign teacher at the School of African Studies, BFSU; Sorelle Edith Kamdem Mague, President of Wisdom Publishing SARL; Chinenye Gerlof Uzodinma, a young sinologist from Nigeria; and Yang Ruoxi, Director of the newly-established language teaching and research office at the School of African Studies, BFSU, joined the roundtable discussion on mutual learning between Chinese and African civilizations and the exchange of governance experience.
During the roundtable, Ma Xiujie and Yang Ruoxi discussed the foundational role of China-Africa language teaching cooperation in promoting mutual learning of civilizations, as well as how to build more convenient channels for China-Africa linguistic and cultural exchange through collaborative textbook development and digital platform construction. Tang Lei (Mamisoa Rakotoarivony) pointed out that China-Africa civilizational exchange can offer Africa a reference in Chinese experience for combining traditional culture with modern development, thereby activating Africa’s indigenous wisdom. Kang Mai (Sorelle Edith Kamdem Mague) and Li Mingcheng (Chinenye Gerlof Uzodinma) shared African perspectives on China, emphasizing that young people are the key actors in China-Africa mutual learning on governance and should be encouraged to move from being mere participants in exchanges to becoming governance actors who jointly address development issues, deepening the practical value of China-Africa mutual learning through the co-creation of knowledge.
Association Launch: Building a China-Africa Publishing Cooperation Community
On the same day, the China-Africa Publishing Association was officially established, with 81 founding member institutions—49 from China and 32 from Africa—covering 19 African countries. At the forum, Guo Yiqiang, Li Pengyi, Wang Liming, and Wu Bao’an presented membership certificates to representatives of 43 member institutions present on site.
A signing ceremony was also held for the French edition of New HSK Course among FLTRP, Chinese Testing International (CTI), and Africa Education Publishing House (Afric’Educ) of Cameroon. This marks the first systematic entry of New HSK Course into the African market and represents the first publishing cooperation project under the China-Africa Publishing Association.
During the forum, participants engaged in extensive discussions on copyright trade, digital publishing, and people-to-people exchanges, reaching broad consensus on cooperation. Looking ahead, the China-Africa publishing community will take this forum as a new starting point and the China-Africa Publishing Association as a platform to continuously deepen mutual learning of civilizations and knowledge sharing, contributing the strength of publishing to the building of the new era China-Africa community with a shared future.
