A total of 1,426 agreements and statements of intent for book copyright exports were reached at the 30th Beijing International Book Fair, which closed on Sunday, with children's books ranking first in the number of export deals.

During the five-day book fair, Chinese publishers introduced a number of children's picture books and literature works available for copyright sale for publishing in other languages.

Lin Yun, head of the China Peace Publishing House, which introduced a series of Chinese children's picture books at the fair, said good children's books serve as a bridge for cultural exchanges. She said the company hopes to "bring informative and distinctive works to children in different countries and introduce China to them."

Official data shows that children's books make up the largest segment of China's book retail market, accounting for around 27 percent of the market share.

The book fair also featured cooperation between Chinese publishers and overseas institutions on the production and publication of children's books. Ahead of the fair, the 21st Century Publishing Group and the Embassy of Italy in Beijing jointly held a press conference on the release of a new book in the Italian classic children's book series "Geronimo Stilton," titled "Adventure of Marco Polo." The book series, first published in simplified Chinese in 2009, has sold 17 million copies on the Chinese mainland.

Wu Shulin, chairman of the Publishers Association of China, said China had become a powerhouse in children's book publishing. He said the Chinese children's book industry has been improving content production and overseas promotion while learning from successful foreign experiences. "The path for Chinese children's books to reach the world is becoming increasingly broad," he said.

Founded in 1986, the Beijing International Book Fair is among the world's largest book fairs and has become one of China's key international book fairs and copyright trading platforms.