Dear Friends,

We are delighted to introduce to you the inaugural EU-China International Literary festival, which brings together a number of exceptional Chinese and European authors to participate in a series of literary events in Beijing and Chengdu from November 21-27, 2017.

The eight prominent European authors selected to represent their countries at this historic event hail from Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, and Slovakia, and we are proud to be joined by some wonderful writers from all across China to engage with them in this cross-cultural initiative. In both Beijing and Chengdu, the EU-China International Literary Festival will involve a series of literary events and discussions featuring novelists, poets and short-story writers who will showcase some leading European and Chinese literary talents, where they can exchange ideas, engage with readers and audiences, and celebrate the diversity of European and Chinese culture.

The EU-China International Literary Festival is a project devised by the Delegation of the European Union to China as part of the #ExperienceEurope initiative. This initiative is a two-year EU public diplomacy programme, aimed at Chinese audiences, inviting them to learn more about the European Union, its policies, values and cultural diversity, and to experience Europe more directly.

Over the coming 18 months a second and third EU-China International Literary Festival will be arranged with a view to welcoming authors from all the EU member states to China, and to connecting with Chinese authors and audiences in different regions across the country. We encourage you to subscribe to our social media platforms to enable you to keep abreast of these exciting activities as they develop.

We would like to thank all our partners who made this event happen, particularly the embassies of the EU member states, the various participating venues in Beijing and Chengdu, and of course the wonderful writers from Europe and China who will grace this inaugural stage.

Hans Dietmar Schweisgut, Ambassador of the European Union to China