On September 21, 2020, FLTRP Editor-in-Chief Mr. Xu Jianzhong and Deputy Editor-in-Chief Ms. Zhang Siying held a video conference with Mr. Jeremy North, Managing Director for Global Books publishing at Taylor & Francis Group; Alan Jarvis, Global Editorial Director of Taylor & Francis Group and Ang Eng Guan, Managing Director of Taylor & Francis China. They exchanged in-depth views on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic upon their businesses, trends in the development of international publishing, and shared their thoughts on bilateral cooperation. 

Mr. Xu said Covid-19 had had a worldwide impact on the publishing industry. After the containment of Covid-19 outbreaks by the Chinese government, the publishing industry in China survived its most difficult period for China's publishing industry and is gradually recovering. FLTRP’s operations have also been affected to a certain extent this year, but revenues have picked up recently and shown rapid growth. Mr. Xu expressed full confidence in future growth. Furthermore, the change in reading habits resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic highlights the urgency of digital transformation in the publishing industry. FLTRP is vigorously promoting digital products even as it remains committed to traditional publishing, preparing to build digital learning platforms to provide multimodal digital products and services related to speaking, listening, reading and testing for teachers, students and readers.

Jeremy North described how various business units of Taylor & Francis Group had been impacted by Covid-19 outbreaks and the ensuing response measures. He said that the pandemic had not only created great challenges for the international publishing industry but also spawned new development trends. Working from home, online learning, and online reading have become the new normal. E-books, audio books, online courses, supporting digital resources and other forms of products have also been developing rapidly, leading to a deepening of online-merge-offline publishing. Only by providing professional and high-quality teaching resources and services for experts, teachers, students and readers can educational academic publishing stay ahead of the curve amidst fierce market competition.

Regarding the cooperation between the two sides, Mr. Xu said that, during the pandemic, FLTRP maintained close communication with international partners through various means. FLTRP is willing to further deepen its comprehensive cooperation with Taylor & Francis Group. FLTRP plans to introduce more academic publications by Taylor & Francis Group in fields such as linguistics, literature, philosophy, humanities and social sciences, and pedagogy, which will provide high-quality academic resources for Chinese scholars, teachers and students. In terms of cooperation in books on China, FLTRP has plans for book series such as “China's contemporary economy”, and hopes to work with Taylor & Francis Group to promote works by Chinese scholars in the international market. In addition, Beijing Foreign Studies University is planning to build an international journal matrix, with editing and overseas promotion undertaken by FLTRP. The company also hopes to work closely with Taylor & Francis Group, one of the world’s leading academic journal publishers, in the development of new academic journals.

Jeremy North reviewed the past collaborations between Taylor & Francis Group and FLTRP, especially the breakthroughs made in the reprinting of academic titles and China-themed publications since the signing of a strategic cooperation agreement in 2019. Mr. North indicated that the two sides could explore more opportunities in areas mentioned by Mr. Xu. In particular, the international community is paying greater attention to China’s contemporary development and academic achievements. FLTRP and Taylor & Francis Group should expand the range of topics in China-themed books and launch a large-scale, influential series. Furthermore, as long-term strategic partners, Taylor & Francis Group and FLTRP should enhance their partnership through cooperation in academic publishing and academic journals.