Cuba to bring President Xi's books to more readers

HAVANA -- Cuba plans to publish the Spanish edition of at least two books on the thoughts and ideas of President Xi Jinping.

Chinese and Cuban publishing houses have signed an agreement to jointly bring the Chinese leader's thoughts on state governance and other issues to a wider Cuban audience.

The agreement was signed during the 27th edition of the Havana International Book Fair that ended Sunday. Hermes Moreno, of the Cuban publishing house New Millennium that signed the agreement, said 5,000 to 10,000 copies are planned to be printed.

"In Cuba, 5,000 copies for such works are a respectable quantity, but it is the minimum that we are looking at," Moreno told Xinhua.

Last week, Cuba's state daily Granma highlighted in its reports "the interest of Cuban readers in books containing texts (of articles and speeches) by Xi Jinping," saying it "reflects their eagerness to learn about the thinking of the top political leader of the People's Republic of China."

The 11-day book fair saw Spanish and English editions of Xi's books quickly sold out, especially his acclaimed "Xi Jinping: the Governance of China."

"Xi's books were sold out very fast, only a few copies of the Russian and French editions remained," said Yu Xin, a young student volunteer in charge of the sale of Chinese books.

Yu, who studies Spanish at the University of Havana, was surprised to see Cubans even snap up books in Chinese.

Cuban readers are looking forward to having greater access to Xi's books, as well as classic and contemporary Chinese literary works, which New Millennium may publish in the near future.

China, as the Havana book fair's guest country for the first time, sent a delegation of more than 200 writers, publishers and officials to take part in the major cultural event held in the Caribbean island nation.