New book to build intellectual bridge between two civilizations, official says

The launch of the Hungarian edition of the second volume of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China is expected to help more Hungarian readers and scholars gain a deeper understanding of China's development model, social transformation, and the path of economic growth, officials and experts said on Friday.

Jointly translated and published by China's Foreign Languages Press and the Eurasia Center of John von Neumann University in Hungary, the volume contains 99 works of President Xi Jinping under 17 topics. The collection includes speeches, talks, addresses, articles and instructions from Aug 18, 2014, to Sept 29, 2017.

At the launch ceremony for the Hungarian edition held in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, where a China-Hungary symposium on state governance also took place, participants said the book offers a new paradigm for modernization, inspiring more nations and peoples to explore their own independent and self-determined paths to development. The event brought together more than 200 representatives from various sectors of both countries.

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Sandor Fazekas, deputy speaker of the Hungarian Parliament, said that the volume takes up the questions that every country must face — how to strike a balance between development and respect for tradition, and between safeguarding national sovereignty and assuming international responsibility.

"President Xi Jinping's vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity reminds us that the challenges of the 21st century can only be met through international cooperation," Fazekas said.

The publication of this volume symbolizes openness, understanding and dialogue between China and Hungary, and reflects the long-standing friendship between the two countries, he added.

Yu Yingfu, vice-president of China International Communications Group, said the book embodies people-centered philosophy, the concept of open and win-win development, the principles of global governance in the new era, and the value of mutual learning among civilizations. He expressed the hope that the Hungarian edition of the second volume would continue to build an intellectual bridge between the Chinese and Hungarian civilizations.

Gong Tao, Chinese ambassador to Hungary, said the release of the Hungarian edition will open a new window for Hungarian readers to better understand Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the Communist Party of China, and China itself.

It will also provide rich intellectual and theoretical support for elevating the all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Hungary to a new level, he said.

Levente Horvath, director of the Eurasia Center of John von Neumann University and former Hungarian consul-general in Shanghai, said that Xi's book is key to understanding China, and also a highly valuable reference for anyone wishing to understand China's role and values in the global landscape.

Gyula Thurmer, chairman of the Hungarian Workers' Party, said the publication of the volume is an important event in Hungary's political and intellectual life. In the book, President Xi focuses on the issue of global governance, outlining a new path for the future world order, he said.

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Judit Gerencser, acting director-general of the National Szechenyi Library, said the book will play an important role in the library's collection and serve as a valuable resource for Hungarian researchers and readers seeking to understand China's governance, modernization, economic prosperity and cultural development.

To date, Xi Jinping: The Governance of China has been published in 43 languages and distributed in more than 180 countries and regions. Since the release of the first volume in 2014, five volumes have been published, covering nearly every aspect of China's political, economic and social development since 2012.

The fifth volume, published in July by Foreign Languages Press in both Chinese and English, is now available to readers both in China and abroad.