The 2025 Southern China Book Fair is underway in south China's Guangzhou, offering a vibrant platform for global literary exchanges and highlighting the publishing industry's pivotal role in fostering international dialogue and navigating digital challenges.
Jose Borghino, Secretary-General of the International Publishers Association (IPA), emphasized the fair's contribution to cultural development and global communications, calling cultural dialogue "part of a publisher's DNA."
In an interview with China Media Group (CMG), Borghino commended the event's international impact, tracing the collaborative spirit of publishers back to Gutenberg's time. He also urged the industry to address intellectual property concerns in an era shaped by digital transformation and artificial intelligence.
"Publishers from the beginning, from the time of Gutenberg, have always sought each other out to make deals about translations, co-editions, and other collaboration. So, cultural dialogue is part of a publisher's DNA and I commend the Southern China Book Fair for pursuing an approach with international repercussion," said the secretary general.
Borghino expressed optimism about integrating new technology into modern publishing while highlighting significant challenges surrounding intellectual property rights.
"Publishers have always been at the forefront of technological change, starting with Gutenberg in 1453. They are resilient. They understand technology. So, I don't think there's a problem there. What they need to be concerned about now, however, is that the technological push is coming from the giants of the platforms like Gen AI. And what they want to do is legitimate the fact that they've taken pirated books to train their large language models without permission, without transparency, and without remuneration. And what publishers need to do is fight strongly against them," he said.
Despite new technologies and end-devices having created diverse reading experiences, hardcopy remains irreplaceable, he noted.
"To the point where in places like Sweden, the education ministry has decided to put to one side its purported policy of going totally E-Book, right? Totally digital. Because they realize that the reading experience is different, that students retain more when they read a hard copy book than when they read it on the screen," said Borghino.
The 2025 Southern China Book Fair runs from August 15 to 19 at the Canton Fair Complex in Guangzhou. This year's fair built an International Culture Exhibition Hall to encourage worldwide cooperation and exchanges, with 20,000 original publications from 23 countries and regions available in the themed pavilions.
Southern China Book Fair spotlights global literary exchange: IPA chief
