China Invited to the 2018 Cuba International Book Fair

To bolster cultural cooperation and friendly relations with China, Cuba has invited the former to the 2018 Cuba International Book Fair, a Cuban official told Xinhua News Agency on Sunday, Feb. 19.

“Inviting China to be the guest country at next year’s fair will be of great importance for our bilateral cultural relation because we have distinct historical ties,” said Abel Prieto, Cuba’s minister of culture.

The event is highly anticipated, according to Prieto, as the book fair, which will run from Feb. 1 to Feb. 11 next year, will give the Cuban people a chance to read and experience Chinese literary classics and arts, which isn’t often readily available in their country.

Prieto also told Xinhua that Cuba’s invitation to China is a means to acknowledge the historical ties between Cuba and China.

In the 19th century, a sizable Chinese population left and migrated to Cuba. Prieto said that this migration has left a significant effect on the development of the Cuban nation.

“The book fair dedicated to China will be an important event to remember that historical tradition, and to update our knowledge of the younger, more recent literature that must be extraordinary,” Prieto said.

“I think it will be a great opportunity for the Cuban people to have closer contact with Chinese literature and arts.”

In the past decade, the Cuban Book Institution has edited 30 books from different Chinese authors, according to Juan Rodriguez, president of the organization. He sees that the 2018 book fair might increase the influx of Chinese titles to Cuba.

“It is a great pleasure to have China as a guest country of honor because our ties and collaborations will increase. Also, we’ll edit books by Cuban authors that have been published in China and print as many books by Chinese authors as possible,” Rodriguez said at the closing remarks during the 2017 book fair.