Xinhua 06.05.2025 08h19
The choice of China as guest of honor of the 39th International Book Fair of Tunis (Filt2025), which is held from April 25 to May 4 under the theme “We read to build”, opens the way to a reinforced partnership between the two countries, noted Tunisian professionals in the edition.
“The choice of China as a guest of honor is both symbolic and strategic (…) as the country is investing in the transmission of its culture, its traditional medicine and its knowledge,” explained Houda Zarrouk, editor in a publishing house that has 26 subsidiaries in the Arab world and has translated more than 500 titles covering many themes.
Photo taken on April 25, 2025 showing the Chinese exhibition zone at the 39th edition of the International Book Fair in Tunis (Filt 2025), in Tunisia. (Xinhua/Huang Ling)
Sharing her experience in the translation of Chinese works in Arabic, Ms. Zarrouk described this work as a “real adventure”, quoted this Sunday by the daily Le Temps.
A total of 313 exhibitors from 29 countries participate in this edition of the Filt. China is present as a guest of honor. Its pavilion, which extends over more than 500 square meters, experienced a strong crowd of visitors from various horizons.
According to Asma Zgolli, an expert in the distribution of Chinese books translated into Arabic, events such as the colloquium on the Chinese book have attracted a large audience, and Tunisian students show great interest in Chinese works dealing with sectors such as the economy, traditional Chinese medicine and trade.
Greeting the commitment of the Chinese community in Tunisia, in particular through cultural animations, Ms. Zgolli noted that the fields of art, cooking and Chinese customs arouse a strong craze, testifying to a thirst for shared cultural discoveries.
For Mona Ben Gamra, journalist and head of the cultural service of the newspaper Le Temps, the choice of China as a guest of honor of the Filt2025 pave the way to a reinforced partnership. “This rapprochement, embodied through the book, translation, culture and intellectual encounter, is the bearer of the future and testifies to a world in search of bridges more than walls, and a Tunisia open to fertile dialogues with the great civilizations,” she said.
(Web editor: Sun Hongyu, Yishuang Liu)
