On the evening of August 27, 2026, on the eve of the establishment of the China-Africa Publishing Association, the "China-Africa Publisher Reception" was successfully held in Jinan, Shandong Province. Nearly 100 representatives from publishing, education and academic institutions in China and African countries, together with industry experts and scholars, gathered in a warm and friendly atmosphere to strengthen friendship and explore cooperation.

The event was hosted by Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press (FLTRP). Guests from Africa came from fields including educational publishing, digital publishing and scholarly communication. Among them were Didier Dieudonne Nama, President of Africa Education Publishing House (Afric’Educ) of Cameroon; Sorelle Edith Kamdem Mague, President of Wisdom Publishing SARL; Asare Konadu Yamoah, President of Adaex Educational Publications of Ghana and Vice President of the African Publishers Network (APNET); James Ong’ang’a, CEO of LOHO Learning, Longhorn Publishers; and Stephanie Kitchen, Executive Director of African Books Collective.

Chinese attendees came from more than 30 publishing houses, universities and research institutes across the country, including university presses such as FLTRP, China Renmin University Press, Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press and Nanjing University Press, as well as comprehensive publishing groups such as Zhejiang Publication United Group and China South Publishing & Media Group Co., Ltd. The Chinese side also brought together representatives from academic institutions dedicated to African studies and education, such as the China-Africa Institute, and the School of African Studies and the School of International Journalism and Communication of Beijing Foreign Studies University. Most institutions were represented at senior level by their presidents or editors-in-chief, together with heads and key staff of international cooperation and copyright departments.

Wang Fang, Secretary of the CPC Committee and Chair of the Board of FLTRP Group, and President of FLTRP, delivered a welcome speech on behalf of the preparatory working group of the China-Africa Publishing Association. Reviewing the development of China-Africa publishing cooperation and the progress of the association’s preparation, she noted that building an institutionalized and normalized publishing cooperation platform meets the common needs of both sides. Once established, she said, the association will shift China-Africa publishing cooperation from scattered project-based engagement to institutionalized, systematic and whole-chain collaboration, while embracing digital and intelligent trends to empower innovation and upgrade China-Africa publishing industry cooperation.

Didier Dieudonne Nama, Stephanie Kitchen, Shi Lei, and Zhu Li delivered speeches on behalf of publishers. Sharing their experience and reflections on China-Africa publishing cooperation, the speakers voiced support for the establishment of the China-Africa Publishing Association and expressed their expectations its future development.