The inauguration ceremony for the China-Africa Publishing Association takes place in Jinan on Aug 26.

The inauguration ceremony for the China-Africa Publishing Association, held alongside the 2026 Forum on China-Africa Publishing Cooperation, took place in Jinan, Shandong province, on Aug 26.

Yilin Press, a subsidiary of Phoenix Publishing and Media Group, officially joined the association as one of its founding members. Zhang Yu, editor-in-chief of Yilin Press, attended the ceremony and received the membership certificate.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Africa and is celebrated as the China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges.

The association was established as a concrete action to implement the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Action Plan (2025-27) and the Global Civilization Initiative. Its mission is to create a regular mechanism for publication exchanges, deepen mutual understanding between civilizations, and share governance experiences.

Membership certificate of Yilin Press as a member of the China-Africa Publishing Association.

The association comprises 81 founding members, including 49 from China and 32 from 19 African countries. The Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press serves as the secretariat, and the China-Africa Publishing Association Cooperation Declaration was released during the launch.

Yilin Press's connection with African literature began in 1999 with the introduction of works by JM Coetzee, Ben Okri, Nadine Gordimer, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. In 2011, Yilin Press introduced the African Short Stories by Chinua Achebe and CL Innes. The publisher has also collaborated with counterparts in Egypt, Tunisia, and Ethiopia to promote Chinese literature in Africa.

African literature introduced by Yilin Presss.

Leveraging the association's platform, Yilin Press plans to enhance its strengths in foreign literature translation, original literature publishing, and children's books. It aims to engage with African publishers in exploring sustainable cooperation in digital transformation, content co-creation, and industry co-development.