The 19th Beijing International Book Fair, the largest ever in its history, kicked off on Wednesday, drawing 2010 publishing organizations from 75 countries and regions to the capital to celebrate reading and cultural exchange.

The book fair will consist of a total of 1,000 events until its close on Sunday.

Nineteen countries have set up national pavilions at the fair, hailed as one of the world’s largest.

Zhang Jichen, from the organizing committee, said the fair’s growing influence is a result of the deep connection between the Chinese and international publishing industry.

Zhang said the fair aims to boost the whole of the publishing business, and offer a platform for copyright trade and cultural exchange between countries. Among the speakers at this years event is Steve Rosato, Event Director of Book Expo America, who will share experiences of attending book gatherings across the Pacific.

“More and more professionals from around the globe use BIBF as a platform to introduce their business to the world,” Zhang said.

For Chinese publishers, the book fair is also a convenient window to a world audience, accessible at home without the trouble of traveling, Zhang added.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties between China and Republic of Korea, the fair features the latter as the country of honor. Thirteen writers from Korea are to exchange ideas with their Chinese counterparts

Two exhibitions, one on multilingual versions of the Chinese classic Tao Te Ching, and another on book cover design, will also be part of the fair’s program.