Although China exports far fewer publications -- both books and magazines -- than it imports, foreign press giants attending the 2004 Beijing International Press Forum are eager to test the water of the export market of Chinese publications.

The two-day forum ending Wednesday was attended by Pearson Plc, Hachette Filpacchi, Thomson Learning, Hachette Livre and other international publishing groups.

Peter Field, chairman of Asian section, Penguin Press Group, said Penguin wishes to establish its first office in the Chinese mainland next year. One of the agency's major tasks will be introducing excellent Chinese authors to the world.

"Market share of Chinese publications in our global business are too little to mention, but the prospect is good," said Peter Field.

He said that Chinese classics and contemporary books are the two categories that most interest foreigners.

Thomson Learning, a company that focuses on professional, educational books, revealed it had had initial talks with some Chinese libraries on cooperation to publish library materials.

"We have been doing business with some leading libraries in the world, but we have not cooperated with any Chinese library," said Greg Browne, international president of Thomson Corporation.

He said leading libraries in China, such as the National Library of China and the library of Qinghua University, have first-class collections, especially in engineering and mathematics.

"Once we publish the books, readers, even in New York, can search the information from Thomson's on-line data base," he said.

Frederic Meriot, president of Developing Department, Hachette Press Group, said after what he has seen these two days, he believes it will be much easier than he thought to put excellent Chinese publications overseas.

According to the Institute of Chinese Publishing Science, China last year exported 23.30 million US dollars worth of books, newspapers and journals, while it imported 146.08 million US dollars worth, almost six times as much. The import of copyrighted material is ten times higher than the export for the past ten years.

An analyst at the forum said the export of Chinese publications has many advantages.

"On one hand, a long history of 5,000 years endows China with a wealth of cultural treasures. On the other hand, the booming of China's economy in recent years has drawn the attention of the world," he said.

To increase exports, he suggested that China's publishers put language and bookbinding into consideration in their overseas business.

"The alternative is that Chinese publishers provide book contents while overseas cooperators are in charge of editing and other processes," he said. "Or we employ foreign staff in our companies at abroad."

China's press authority recently promised to promote the business of exporting Chinese publications. As part of this, China's publishers are encouraged to attend various international exhibitions of books.