Internet breathes life into Chinese book scene

By Georgina Prodhan

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - While many Western publishers fear the Internet could destroy their trade through piracy and price pressures, in China the Web is driving a renaissance in an industry that had stagnated under state control.

One in five Chinese bestsellers now originates in cyberspace and the Internet has also vastly expanded the bounds of what can be published.

"The Internet means, actually, a new freedom for Chinese people but also for publishers," Jing Bartz, director of the German Book Information Centre in Beijing, told Reuters at the Frankfurt Book Fair. "It plays a very big role."

Although Web content is hard to control, Chinese authorities have recognised a need to develop the nation's book market or see it taken over by foreigners after joining the World Trade Organisation almost seven years ago, Bartz and others said.

The value of books sold in China last year totalled 51.3 million yuan, a tiny fraction of the $25 billion (14.4 billion pounds) the U.S. book market is worth, partly due to low prices under a planned economy.

Hu Dawei, vice president of the Shanghai Century Publishing Group -- one of mainland China's biggest publishing groups -- said the government was now encouraging publishers to explore new forms of ownership to free up the market.

Shanghai Century, which controls more than a dozen publishing houses and a big distribution network in eastern China, is planning to list part of its assets this year.

MANY TABOOS