In October 2006, Shanghai Xinhua Media Co. Ltd. went public through a back door listing, becoming the first press company in China to go public. After that, Sichuan Xinhua Winshare Chainstore Co. Ltd. listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. On December 21st, 2007, the Liaoning Publishing and Media Co. Ltd. went public in the Shanghai Securities Exchange, becoming the first state-owned cultural enterprise with editing and publishing business to go entirely public and become the top stock in China’s publishing and media industry.
As of 2007, 23 publishing groups began to enter the capital markets actively through mergers and acquisitions. Reforms had been carried out in more than 100 bookstores and Xinhua Book Stores had undergone commercialization in 29 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government. Some of those stores implemented a shareholding system.
There were 29 national chain publication companies and chain operations were implemented in 23 provincial Xinhua bookstores. Five book logistic centers with floor area of more than 100,000 square meters were set up in China. The annual profit of 10 book logistics centers was in the millions of RMB. There were eight national private chain companies and the number of distribution companies reached 100,000. There were more than 40 Sino-foreign joint ventures, Sino-foreign cooperation or foreign-invested distribution companies focused on books and periodicals. A network of distribution companies has grown rapidly and nine publishing and media companies have gone public with market capitalization of RMB200 billion and net financing of RMB18 billion. All these developments indicate that publishing companies in China have undergone profound changes.
“The Guidelines on Further Promoting the Reform of the Press and Publication System” was issued by General Administration of Press and Publication in April 2009, which presented a more specific route map and schedule for the reform of the press and publication system. It was regulated in the guideline that except for those in public welfare, the publishing houses of all the local and institutes of higher learning, engaging in profit-making service with books, audio and video products and electronic publications, must complete the work of transforming into enterprises by the end of 2009, and those of the departments and commissions under the central leadership by the end of 2010.
With the fast marketization of publications, laws affecting press and publications have improved. In 1990, the “Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China” was promulgated, it took effect in 1991. In the same year, the “Regulations for the Protection of Computer Software” were approved by the State Council. In 1992, China signed the Berne Convention and the Universal Copyright Convention, which marked the improvement of the publication law system of modern China and the integration with copyright efforts around the world. After that, promulgation of laws for the Chinese publishing industry was sped up. In 2001, to promote and meet the rapid development needs of the publishing industry, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress passed the “Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China.”
Also in 2001, the State Council approved and promulgated the “Regulation on Publication Administration,” the “Regulation on the Administration of Audio-Visual Products” and the “Regulation on the Administration on the Printing Industry.” In 2008, the “Regulations for Administration of Publishing Electronic Publication,” “Regulations for Administration of Making AV Products,” the “Regulations for Administration of Books Publication” and the “Regulations on the Administration of Occupational Qualification of Publication Technologists” formulated by the General Administration of Press and Publication took effect.