China sponsored a “Sino-US Publishing and Media Industry Forum” at the Book Expo America, a leading book publishing event in the city of New York, USA, running from May 27 to 29, to discuss the development of publishing and the media in the internet era.

Addressing the gathering was Wu Xiaoping, of the President of Phoenix Publishing & Media, one of China’s biggest publishers, who spoke about digitalization and how his company has responded to the internet era.

Wu said that in spite of the different modes of transmission in the internet era, content is still the key and that digitalization can help disseminate information in an efficient way. He went on to give a brief description of the progress his company has made in international strategies, especially in America. For example, in 2014, PPM acquired the US’s Publishing International Ltd, for the biggest cross-border acquisition in the publishing industry. In addition, Phoenix set up a holding company in New York City this past May and spent $25 million on an office building to provide a solid foundation for their US business.

Chairing the forum was Rudiger Wischenbart, an international publishing counselor, with officials and entrepreneurs from China and the US taking part in the exchange of ideas.