The Handbook of The Belt and Road, an encyclopedic account of the Belt and Road Initiative, was launched in multilingual versions on June 20 in Beijing.

The book involved 110 scholars as writers to offer 498 entries, as "we strive to comprehensively and systematically reflect the latest progress and latest expressions of the initiative", said Zhao Jianglin, one of the executive editors of the book and a researcher from the Institute of European Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The idea of publishing the book, by Cai Fang and Peter Nolan, first surfaced in 2017. It has been revised and enriched in its 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024 (to be published soon) Chinese editions. Cai is an economist with the Chinese academy and Nolan is an acclaimed British expert on China and an economist.

Zhao said the book elaborates the original intention and principles of the initiative, as well as its history and current situation, basic knowledge and related research.

After the launch of the English-language version in Cambridge, Britain, in 2018, contract agreements were signed for it to be published in 17 various languages. So far eight have already been released, including in Polish by Adam Marszalek Publishing and in Romanian by Ideea Europeana Press.

As its English-language publisher, Jeremy North, president of Global Book Business of Taylor Francis Publishing Group, spoke of its influence. "The Belt and Road Initiative, since its launch, has sparked great debates and interests among a wide range of people in the English-speaking world," North said.

He added that this has been frequently reflected on coverage in newspapers, TV and magazines. "But the most authoritative information comes from the handbook (known as the Routledge Handbooks)," he said, adding the book showcases how two international publishers could work closely to present the work by multiple scholars.

North said the success of the handbook is a milestone in the history of cooperation between China and the United Kingdom over the years, and is "an exemplary work of dialogue and cooperation between Chinese and Western scholars, and an exemplary work of disseminating knowledge and promoting people-to-people connection".

Zhao Jianying, president of the handbook's Chinese publisher, China Social Sciences Press, said that the book boosts exchanges with the world's think tanks, and deepens mutual understanding among public in various countries.

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