A visitor reads "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China" at the London Book Fair in London, April 14, 2015. (Photo: China News Service/Zhou Zhaojun)
Former British Deputy Prime Ministers Geoffrey Howe and John Prescott on Wednesday welcomed the formal launch of Chinese President Xi Jinping's book on governance in London.
The book, "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China," a collection of speeches, answers to questions and instructions by Xi from Nov. 15, 2012 to June 13, 2014, was formally launched in Britain Wednesday during the 44th London Book Fair, where multi-language versions of the book are being exhibited at the 3-day trade show.
With more than 4 million copies sold worldwide, including 400,000 copies overseas, the book has set a new international circulation record among works written by Chinese leaders since the country's reform and opening up.
"I am delighted to be present today, and I actually look forward with enthusiasm to reading the book, which sounds absolutely marvelous," Howe, said at the launching ceremony.
Howe, who served as Britain's foreign secretary and met many of China's former leaders in the 1980s, said he cherished the occasions that he experienced to deal with Anglo-Chinese relationship.
"We are together. Let us remain so, and let us love the book," he told the audience.
John Prescott, who was British deputy prime minister between 1997 and 2007, said: "This book is obviously an important step towards providing even a deeper insight into the concepts and principles of governance in the new leadership of China."
"It's another important step towards the understanding between our countries, but it's much more than that. It's a global level," he noted.
Prescott said that the book was designed for a better understanding of China's ideology, its pattern of development, its foreign policy, and its values under the new leadership.
"It will be an essential reading for many of us on China, who're influencing world affairs," he commented.
Talking about the timeliness of the book, the veteran politician continued: "It is critical that he's producing a book at this time. It couldn't be a timelier book to be actually produced, when we want to see global governance playing a major part than it has done in the past."
Peter Nolan, professor of Chinese development at Cambridge University, said the way in which China's economic system is organized is centrally important not only for China's governance, but also for global governance.
Noting that the topic of governance "has a key place" in Xi's book, he elaborated: "The way in which China is governed is of fundamental importance for the country's future. It has the potential also to make a profound contribution to the way in which the global community as a whole is governed in the 21st century and beyond."
A core part of the philosophy of China's governance, Nolan said, is the search for the most appropriate balance between the invisible hand of market forces and the visible hand of government action.
Nolan's views were echoed by British sociologist and emeritus professor Martin Albrow, who called the book "a wonderful publication."
"If I was still teaching, I would say every student in the social sciences in the rest of the world should read this book, because it tells you so much about China," said Albrow, who is also a senior fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Britain.
The scholar argued that the book represents the thought of the Chinese people today under the current leadership, and conveys "an idea of direction that the world should be taking in the future."
"I hope it will make a big impact in the world," the expert said.
The book, which made its international debut at the Frankfurt book fair last October, has been published in at least nine languages worldwide so far.
