Zhao Jianying, editor-in-chief of China Social Sciences Press, introduces the "China Insights" book series at the 45th London Book Fair on April 12, 2016.

 

LONDON—China Social Sciences Press (CSSP) launched the “China Insights” book series at the 45th London Book Fair (LBF) on April 12, the first day of the fair.

Presenting cutting-edge studies on China’s history and contemporary issues from economic, political and cultural perspectives, the series offers an important multilingual resource for Sinologists while contributing to a better understanding of the nation’s socioeconomic system and developmental concepts, said experts at the launch event and concurrent symposium on the Asian power’s reform and transition.
 

“The series is characterized by serious in-depth academic research,” said CSSP editor-in-chief Zhao Jianying. Focusing on significant theoretical and practical issues that Chinese and international readers follow, the series summarizes the academic achievements of leading contemporary Chinese researchers in an accessible way, Zhao said. He said he hopes the series will promote a more rational perception of the nation’s development and support the notion that China’s rise is beneficial to the world.

“One needs to have a comprehensive understanding of China and that includes a knowledge of not just what is happening in China today but also what happened in the past. Awareness of its history, culture, values and ancient philosophy is very important,” said Robert Ash, a professor at the SOAS China Institute at the University of London.
 

Some people approach China from a short-term perspective, which leads to all sorts of misunderstandings, he said. The book series features experts who can provide foreign readers with valuable insights on the country, he said.
 

At the symposium, Chinese and British experts exchanged ideas on China’s social welfare polices, economy and governance reform, as well as Marxist studies in China and the West. Given its distinctive historical and cultural background, China has provided an alternative path to modernity, experts said.
 

British scholar and journalist Martin Jacques, author of When China Rules the World, said that it is Western conventional wisdom that all governance systems should essentially be the same or very similar and that all countries should be like the West. However, the form of political governance system is deeply rooted in local culture. The nature of governance at any particular time is a product of a country’s historical circumstances, including various economic, political and philosophical factors, he said.
 

“Just because the West went through various stages of development does not mean China has to replicate that. That has been the classical Eurocentric view,” Jacques said.
 

It is important for academic researchers to properly tell China’s story and show the country’s true face to the world, Zhao said, adding that the Western public needs to be convinced that Western-style modernity does not represent the end of historical evolution and that socialism with Chinese characteristics also makes a valuable contribution to human thought.

 

Jiang Hong is a reporter at the Chinese Social Sciences Today.