For Bangladeshi publishers, the club offers direct access to China’s £3.2bn translation grant fund and participation in the Beijing International Book Fair’s dedicated “Silk Road” pavilion.
A Chinese Literature Readers Club formally launched in Dhaka on 26 December, creating a structured platform for publishing professionals to access translation rights, co-production opportunities, and technological exchange.
The club, jointly organised by the China Writers Association and Apon Friendship Exchange Centre, positions itself as a commercial hub for publishers, literary agents, and translators.
Pradip Roy of Prosidhi Publishers highlighted immediate opportunities for bilateral translation rights acquisition – Chinese titles into Bangla and Bangladeshi works into Chinese – alongside collaboration at international book fairs and sharing of digital publishing technologies.
Market Access and Infrastructure
Bangladesh represents a high-growth market prospect, although many publishers outside the country dismiss digital options as internet penetration is still below 50%. But when a country has over 170 million people, that equates to 82 million online – more than Germany.
For China-Bangladesh language barriers severely restrict catalogue exchange: fewer than 2% of Chinese literary titles circulate in Bangladesh, while contemporary Bangladeshi fiction remains virtually absent from mainland Chinese bookstores.
The club addresses this gap through a planned programme of rights negotiation sessions at the Chinese Book Corner of Bangladesh’s National Library.
Cultural Counsellor Li Shaofeng framed the initiative within Beijing’s Belt and Road cultural connectivity strategy, emphasising regular translator workshops and funding for publication subsidies. China Media Group’s Bangla Department will coordinate promotional campaigns, leveraging its Dhaka bureau’s media infrastructure.
The View From The Beach
Industry specialists note the arrangement mirrors China’s expanding literary diplomacy. The China Writers Association has established similar bilateral frameworks with Russia and ASEAN markets, often incorporating IP protection protocols – critical given recent surges in unauthorised digital translations.
For Bangladeshi publishers, the club offers direct access to China’s £3.2bn translation grant fund and participation in the Beijing International Book Fair’s dedicated “Silk Road” pavilion.
Faisal Abdullah of CMG Bangla stressed that professional-grade translation remains the primary hurdle, with AI-assisted tools currently achieving only 70% accuracy for Sino-Bangla language pairs. The club will sponsor certification programmes for literary translators, addressing quality control concerns.
Next Steps
The inaugural committee committed to a quarterly publishers’ roundtable beginning March 2026, with the first translation catalogue expected to feature 20 titles across fiction, children’s literature, and academic works.
This post first appeared in the TNPS LinkedIn newsfeed.
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