The Current Status of the Publishing Industry in China

This article retrospectively analyzes the current situation of the development of China's publishing industry and illustrates the scale, structure, new publication patterns, and characteristics of this industry. The results reveal that the continuous development of China's publishing industry is manifested in the solid growth of traditional publishing and the rapid growth of non-paper-based publications. Digital and network technologies have become the critical foundations of the publishing industry, facilitating the expansion of the traditional publishing industry and the renewal of traditional productivity. Moreover, the dominance of books giving way to a more diversified publishing pattern. An industry chain primarily based on provinces is under construction, and the leading publishers are beginning to orient toward industrial development. The basic formation of a dual-capital system, funded both federally and privately, has accelerated the process of publishing socialization. In contrast to the previous system under the planned economy, this new system is demarcated into missions for information dissemination and the pursuit of profit, a fundamental change known as the "dichotomy pattern" that powerfully promotes the prosperity and advancement of China's publishing industry.