By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson

Thriller Enters China’s Fiction Chart at No. 10

TikTok, known in China to some as Douyin, had a role in a new hit onto China’s fiction bestseller list for May, which brings up the interesting on-again off-again outlook for some of the market’s communications apps outside the country.

On June 9, the United States president, Joe Biden, revoked one of Donald Trump’s orders, which had looked to ban TikTok and WeChat in response to concerns about Americans’ data security.

Katie Rogers and Cecilia Kang at The New York Times wrote, “The Trump order had not been carried out ‘in the soundest fashion,’ Biden administration officials said in a call with reporters, adding that the new directive would establish ‘clear intelligible criteria’ to evaluate national security risks posed by software applications connected to foreign governments, particularly China.”

The Associated Press’ Matt O’Brien, Eric Tucker, and Tali Arbel have confirmed that the Biden White House is talking about a “tailored, tough approach” to security and privacy evaluations of each app, out of “ongoing concern that Americans’ personal data could be exposed by popular apps tied to China.”

But beyond those geopolitical considerations, TikTok in China, according to the team at the data research group Beijing OpenBook, was a key vehicle of the recommendations that helped power Alex Michaelides’ The Silent Patient (Celadon Books, 2019) into an entry at No. 10 on May otherwise sluggish fiction bestseller list.

At NPD Books, Kristen McLean recently has pointed to a similar phenomenon in the United States, with two backlisted titles—They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera and We Were Liars by E. Lockhart—being placed into leading slots on the YA lists earlier this year, in part through the energy of the BookTok section of TikTok.

“This is the first time we’ve seen an organic, social-media phenomenon push backlist books spontaneously back onto the bestseller lists without any kind of marketing or sales push from publishers,” McLean said last month.

The British-Cypriot Michaelides’ debut now doing well in China is hardly a stranger to success, of course. Its Stateside publisher, Celadon, reports translation rights sales into 49 languages and territories, and it was on The New York Times‘ lists for more than a year. Brad Pitt and Megan Ellison reportedly have interests in the book’s option for film through Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures, and Michaelides was the writer on the 2013 film from James Oakley, The Devil You Know.

The Chinese edition was published in December by Henan Literature & Art Press. And while the English-language markets in which the book found its first popularity know it as an intense psychological thriller with a heavy twist at the end, the Chinese readership, according to our associates at OpenBook, are also drawn to its treatment of family, marriage, and intimate relationships.

Thrillers and suspense aren’t mainline genres in the Chinese market, while considerations of family and personal values and observations on life hold more sway.

In addition, the fiction list saw newcomers When Rumor Becomes Truth by Man Man He Qi Duo (Jiangsu Literature & Art Press) and Love Favors by Teng Luo Wei Zhi (Qingdao Publishing House) enter at No. 22 and 30, respectively, both originating as “online literature,” the Asian engine of Internet serial fiction that spawns many contemporary hits for their avid followers.

TikTok enters the picture again in relation to Love Favors. The season has seen an uptick in romance sales among young women, and the app has helped to propel this one forward along with First Frost; Hidden Love; and You Are My Desire—with campus love stories reportedly working overtime in the chatter online, accompanied by short videos on many platforms.

In nonfiction, the traditional fondness in the Chinese readership for self-improvement held steady in May, seeing Li Zheyuan’s Master of Learning (Beijing Union Publishing Company) enter the list at No. 10.

Gaining popularity in his appearances on Fan Deng’s live broadcasts and streams, Zheyuan offers in his book various learning tools, having started with strong pre-sales last August.

Below, then, are OpenBook’s overall lists from May of bestsellers in fiction, nonfiction, and children’s books, followed by its lists of bestselling fiction and nonfiction in China by authors from outside the country.

At the end of our article, as always, you’ll find notes on how the lists are constructed.

OpenBook’s Fiction Bestsellers, May 2021

April 2021 Ranking	May 2021 Ranking	ISBN	Release Date	Title (Translated)	Author	Chinese Publisher
1	1	9787536692930	2008-01	The Three-Body Problem	Liu Cixin	Chongqing Publishing House
6	2	9787530221099	2021-02	Wencheng	Yu hua	Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House
3	3	9787536693968	2008-05	The Dark Forest	Liu Cixin	Chongqing Publishing House
4	4	9787500601593	2005-08	Red Crag	Luo Guangbin,Yang Yiyan	China Youth Press
5	5	9787540487645	2018-06	Moments We Shared	Zhang Jiajia	Hunan Literature & Art Press
2	6	9787229030933	2010-11	Death’s End	Liu Cixin	Chongqing Publishing House
10	7	9787530215593	2017-06	To Live	Yu hua	Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House
19	8	9787550032071	2019-02	White Olive Tree	Jiu Yuexi	Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House
11	9	9787506344791	2008-12	Street Wizards	Feng Jicai	The Writer’s Publishing House
Not Ranked	10	9787555910749	2020-12	The Silent Patient	Alex Michaelides	Henan Literature & Art Press
8	11	9787544291170	2017-08	One Hundred Years of Solitude (50th Anniversary Edition)	Gabriel García Márquez	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
7	12	9787559452788	2020-12	First Frost	Zhu Yi	Jiangsu Literature & Art Press
18	13	9787521208740	2020-01	Street Wizards (3)	Feng Jicai	The Writer’s Publishing House
17	14	9787555285298	2020-03	Hidden Love	Zhu Yi	Qingdao Publishing House
9	15	9787506331746	2005-05	Distant Savior	Dou Dou	The Writer’s Publishing House
22	16	9787550032859	2019-07	You are My Desire	Qi Jian	Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House
16	17	9787544291163	2017-08	Journey Under the Midnight Sun (2017 Edition)	Higashino Keigo	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
13	18	9787020002207	1998-07	Dream of the Red Chamber	Cao Xueqin	People’s Literature Publishing House
12	19	9787530216781	2017-06	Ordinary Word (3 Volumns)	Lu Yao	Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House
Not Ranked	20	9787506384209	2015-11	Street Wizards (2)	Feng Jicai	The Writer’s Publishing House
Not Ranked	21	9787020160457	2020-01	Street Wizards (Full Version)	Feng Jicai	People’s Literature Publishing House
Not Ranked	22	9787559453723	2021-04	When Rumor Becomes Truth (The End)	Man Man He Qi Duo	Jiangsu Literature & Art Press
20	23	9787521210033	2020-09	Sit for a While Tea House	Jia Pingwa	The Writer’s Publishing House
Not Ranked	24	9787544298995	2020-09	Miracles of the Namiya General Store (2020 Edition)	Higashino Keigo	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
21	25	9787544766500	2017-01	To Kill a Mockingbird	Harper Lee	Yilin Press
26	26	9787544285148	2016-10	Malice	Higashino Keigo	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
Not Ranked	27	9787020164776	2020-07	A Late Bloomer	Mo Yan	People’s Literature Publishing House
15	28	9787506365437	2010-06	To Live	Yu hua	The Writer’s Publishing House
23	29	9787020090006	2012-07	Fortress Besieged	Qian Zhongshu	People’s Literature Publishing House
Not Ranked	30	9787555283652	2020-03	Love Favors	Teng Luo Wei Zhi	Qingdao Publishing House

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OpenBook’s Nonfiction Bestsellers, May 2021

April 2021 Ranking	May 2021 Ranking	ISBN	Release Date	Title (Translated)	Author	Chinese Publisher
3	1	9787544276986	2019-10	Educated: A Memoir	Tara Westover	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
1	2	9787201161693	2020-08	Counselling for Toads: A Psychological Adventure	Robert de Board	Tianjin People’s Publishing House
2	3	9787572201882	2020-08	The Value	Zhang Lei	Zhejiang Education Press Co.,Ltd
4	4	9787549632725	2020-09	30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoon (5)	Chen Lei	Wenhui Publishing House
6	5	9787539999883	2017-03	30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoon	Chen Lei	Jiangsu Literature & Art Press
10	6	9787544387866	2019-09	30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoon (4)	Chen Lei	Hainan Publishing House
9	7	9787544382045	2018-05	30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoon (2)	Chen Lei	Hainan Publishing House
8	8	9787544382052	2018-05	30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoon (3)	Chen Lei	Hainan Publishing House
7	9	9787559640246	2020-04	Gag Reel (Signature Edition)	Li Dan	Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd.
Not Ranked	10	9787559643926	2020-08	Master of Learning	Li Zheyuan	Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd.
11	11	9787508095226	2018-09	Nonviolent Communication	Marshall B. Rosenberg	Huaxia Publishing House
12	12	9787559418111	2018-04	30 Minutes of World History in Cartoon	Chen Lei	Jiangsu Literature & Art Press
17	13	9787540489304	2019-01	Danshari	Yamashita Eiko	Hunan Literature & Art Press
5	14	9787550268517	2016-07	Positive Discipline	Jane Nelsen	Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd.
15	15	9787557023041	2020-10	If History were a Group of Cats: Sui and Tang Dynasty	Fei Zhi	Guangdong Tourism Publishing House
13	16	9787559639134	2020-06	The Rise of China	Jin Yinan	Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd.
16	17	9787559313652	2017-09	If History were a Group of Cats: Xia, Shang and Western Zhou Dynasty	Fei Zhi	Heilongjiang Fine Arts Press
18	18	9787559330260	2018-06	If History were a Group of Cats: The Spring-autumn and Warring State Period	Fei Zhi	Heilongjiang Fine Arts Press
20	19	9787557017477	2019-02	If History were a Group of Cats: Qin, Chu, Western Han and Eastern Han Dynasty	Fei Zhi	Guangdong Tourism Publishing House
21	20	9787557021856	2020-05	If History were a Group of Cats: Wei, Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties	Fei Zhi	Guangdong Tourism Publishing House
22	21	9787557020149	2019-09	If History were a Group of Cats: Three Kingdoms	Fei Zhi	Guangdong Tourism Publishing House
23	22	9787557020132	2019-09	If History were a Group of Cats: The End of Eastern Han Dynasty	Fei Zhi	Guangdong Tourism Publishing House
Not Ranked	23	9787521210255	2020-08	The Tough Brilliance	Jin Yinan	The Writer’s Publishing House
19	24	9787508660752	2017-02	Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind	Yuval Noah Harari	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
14	25	9787108063106	2018-06	We Three (Third Edition)	Yang Jiang	SDX Joint Publishing Company
25	26	9787540487850	2018-08	Guo Degang on Chinese Cultural History	Guo Degang	Hunan Literature & Art Press
26	27	9787508689586	2018-07	Economics Lecture Notes	Xue Zhaofeng	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
Not Ranked	28	9787559449863	2020-08	30 Minutes of History of Chinese Philosophy in Cartoon	Chen Lei	Jiangsu Literature & Art Press
Not Ranked	29	9787020116133	2016-06	Red Star Over China	Edgar Snow	People’s Literature Publishing House
24	30	9787201088945	2014-12	No More Than Skins	Cai Chongda	Tianjin People’s Publishing House

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OpenBook’s Children’s Bestsellers, May 2021

April 2021 Ranking	May 2021 Ranking	ISBN	Release Date	Title (Translated)	Author	Chinese Publisher
7	1	9787534633362	2005-05	Bronze and Sunflower	Cao Wenxuan	Jiangsu Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
3	2	9787536574397	2016-01	Mi Xiaoquan’s Brain-teaser: Clever Little Prodigy	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
4	3	9787536574366	2016-01	Mi Xiaoquan’s Brain-teaser: Stratego	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
2	4	9787536593749	2020-05	Mi Xiaoquan’s Brain-teaser: Game of the Wise	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
8	5	9787536574380	2016-01	Mi Xiaoquan’s Brain-teaser: Who’s the Smart Guy?	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
10	6	9787536574373	2016-01	Mi Xiaoquan’s Brain-teaser: The Great Adventure of the Castle	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
5	7	9787536593756	2020-05	Mi Xiaoquan’s Brain-teaser: Password Discovery	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
9	8	9787536593442	2020-05	Mi Xiaoquan’s Brain-teaser: The Magic Lamp	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
6	9	9787536593459	2020-05	Mi Xiaoquan’s Brain-teaser: ‘Have a Meal’ Restaurant	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
Not Ranked	10	9787534618727	1998-07	The Straw Hut	Cao Wenxuan	Jiangsu Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
11	11	9787536587694	2018-04	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: I am a Pupil	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
1	12	9787521726473	2020-12	A Dog Named Money	Bodo Schafer	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
12	13	9787536587724	2018-04	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: Look at This Family	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
13	14	9787536587717	2018-04	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: A Dog Called Rat	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
14	15	9787536587700	2018-04	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: My Good Friend Tie Tou	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
15	16	9787536587762	2018-04	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: If I Have a Time Machine	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
17	17	9787536587731	2018-04	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: Trouble of the New Deskmate	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
16	18	9787536587755	2018-04	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: Secrets of Nature	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
18	19	9787536587748	2018-04	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: A Lot of Fun	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
21	20	9787536587793	2018-04	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: Comedy King Comes	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
27	21	9787536588110	2018-04	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: Undercover Deskmate	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
24	22	9787536587786	2018-04	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: Naughty Boy and Grandpa	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
26	23	9787536588103	2018-04	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: The Future Me	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
22	24	9787536587809	2018-04	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: Cheers, Soccer Boy	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
28	25	9787536588202	2017-11	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: Meet Mr. Cat	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
Not Ranked	26	9787536588196	2017-11	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: There’s a Little Prodigy in Class	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
23	27	9787536596313	2019-12	Mi Xiaoquan’s Idioms Comic Games	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
25	28	9787536587779	2018-04	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: I Have a Super Follow	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
Not Ranked	29	9787501605071	2011-10	Bronze and Sunflower	Cao Wenxuan	Foreign Literature Press
30	30	9787558900648	2017-07	Winter of Three Hairs (With Chinese Pinyin)	Zhang Leping	Juvenile & Children’s Publishing House

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Foreign Author Fiction Bestsellers, May 2021

April 2021 Ranking	May 2021 Ranking	ISBN	Release Date	Title (Translated)	Author	Author nationality	Chinese Publisher
19	1	9787555910749	2020-12	The Silent Patient	Alex Michaelides	Britain	Henan Literature & Art Press
1	2	9787544291170	2017-08	One Hundred Years of Solitude (50th Anniversary Edition)	Gabriel García Márquez	Colombia	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
2	3	9787544291163	2017-08	Journey Under the Midnight Sun (2017 Edition)	Higashino Keigo	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
8	4	9787544298995	2020-09	Miracles of the Namiya General Store (2020 Edition)	Higashino Keigo	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
3	5	9787544766500	2017-01	To Kill a Mockingbird	Harper Lee	United States of America	Yilin Press
4	6	9787544285148	2016-10	Malice	Higashino Keigo	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
Not Ranked	7	9787544262705	2021-03	The Line of Hope	Higashino Keigo	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
6	8	9787532175512	2020-05	13 Steps	Kazuaki Takano	Japan	Shanghai Literature & Art Press
5	9	9787532776771	2018-03	Norwegian Wood (30th Anniversary Edition)	Haruki Murakami	Japan	Shanghai Translation Publishing House
7	10	9787544267618	2014-06	The Devotion of Suspect X	Higashino Keigo	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
10	11	9787544297059	2020-03	Love in the Time of Cholera (3 million units, anniversary edition)	Gabriel García Márquez	Colombia	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
15	12	9787539983295	2015-10	Foundation	Isaac Asimov	United States of America	Jiangsu Literature & Art Press
12	13	9787544291224	2017-08	After School (2017 Edition)	Higashino Keigo	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
Not Ranked	14	9787559456021	2021-03	Smoke and Mirrors	Neil Gaiman	Britain	Jiangsu Literature & Art Press
11	15	9787506394864	2017-09	Sophie’s World (New Edition)	Jostein Gaarder	Norway	The Writer’s Publishing House
9	16	9787208061644	2018-02	The Kite Runner (2018 Edition)	Khaled Hosseini	United States of America	Shanghai People’s Publishing House
Not Ranked	17	9787544292870	2018-06	Love Letter	Shunji Iwai	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
16	18	9787544281102	2016-01	Newcomer	Higashino Keigo	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
Not Ranked	19	9787550033566	2019-09	Weathering with You	Shinkai Makoto	Japan	Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House
14	20	9787201116693	2017-05	My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry	Fredrik Backman	Sweden	Tianjin People’s Publishing House

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Foreign Author Nonfiction Bestsellers, May 2021

April 2021 Ranking	May 2021 Ranking	ISBN	Release Date	Title (Translated)	Author	Author nationality	Chinese Publisher
2	1	9787544276986	2019-10	Educated: A Memoir	Tara Westover	United States of America	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
1	2	9787201161693	2020-08	Counselling for Toads: A Psychological Adventure	Robert de Board	Britain	Tianjin People’s Publishing House
5	3	9787508095226	2018-09	Nonviolent Communication	Marshall B.Rosenberg	United States of America	Huaxia Publishing House
9	4	9787540489304	2019-01	Danshari	Yamashita Eiko	Japan	Hunan Literature & Art Press
4	5	9787550268517	2016-07	Positive Discipline	Jane Nelsen	United States of America	Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd.
3	6	9787111495482	2020-03	The Courage to Be Disliked	Kishimi Ichiro	Japan	China Machine Press
Not Ranked	7	9787521728330	2021-03	How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need	Bill Gates	United States of America	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
6	8	9787540471194	2019-02	Relationship: Bridge to the Soul	Christoper Moon	Canada	Hunan Literature & Art Press
8	9	9787520711531	2019-11	A Compass to Fulfillment	Kazuo Inamori	Japan	Orient Press
7	10	9787111635574	2019-10	The Working Methods of Kazuo Inamori	Kazuo Inamori	Japan	China Machine Press
12	11	9787220114045	2019-07	Rich Dad Poor Dad	Robert T. Kiyosaki	United States of America	Sichuan People’s Publishing House
13	12	9787115536198	2020-05	Heart: Kazuo Inamori’s Philosophy of Life	Kazuo Inamori	Japan	Posts & Telecommunications Publishing House
10	13	9787508660752	2017-02	Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind	Yuval Noah Harari	Israel	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
11	14	9787508687216	2018-08	Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty	Abhijit V.Banerjee, Esther Duflo	United States of America	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
Not Ranked	15	9787210096528	2017-09	Mindset: The New Psychology of Success	Carol S.  Dweck	United States of America	Jiangxi People’s Publishing House
14	16	9787547734315	2019-09	Life is Worth Living	Nakamura Tsuneko	Japan	Beijing daily publishing house
20	17	9787020116133	2017-06	Red Star Over China	Edgar Snow	United States of America	People’s Literature Publishing House
15	18	9787508684031	2017-12	Principles	Ray Dalio	United States of America	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
Not Ranked	19	9787508633558	2012-07	Thinking, Fast and Slow	Daniel Kanneman	United States of America	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
18	20	9787535732309	2001-11	A Brief History of Time	Stephen W.Hawking	Britain	Hunan Science & Technology Press

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Notes on the Charts

OpenBook is a privately owned industry-data research firm based in Beijing. It functions somewhat as Nielsen and NDP do from the West, and Nielsen Book Research International has worked with OpenBook in Asian operations. With authoritative data and information resources, OpenBook is able to deliver consulting service to partners who would like to explore the Chinese book market and identify suitable partners.

OpenBook monitors more than 10,000 online and offline bookstores.

The online channel includes digital retailers such as large self-operated online stores, platform stores, and small- and medium-sized stores. The offline channels include 4,495 bookstores. Coverage includes most of the state-owned and influential privately owned bookstores in 30 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions. Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Tibet are not included in OpenBook’s system.

In 2019, OpenBook tracked around 71.72 billion RMB in sales (US$10.1 billion).

Retail outlets include:

• Traditional bookstores
• Supermarkets
• Campus bookstores
• “Professional” stores, said to be small stores with a specific industrial or trade focus
• Airport stores

In addition, OpenBook is drawing data from online bookstores of three main types:

• The “Tmall” stores of Alibaba (Tmall is described as a marketplace of companies that create storefronts online to sell products including books)
• The “JingDong” Stores of JD.com (similar to Tmall as a marketplace of both individual companies and bookstores operated by JD.com)
• Ten independent online bookselling retailers

China has 500 or more publishers in operation today. Most of them, Jiang Boyan CEO James Bryant clarifies, are government-owned. Private publishers are required to generate ISBNs for their titles from a publishing company that is government-owned—which, in other words, creates a system in which all ISBNs are in one way or another registered through government channels. The government approves each book published in China.

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More China bestseller reports from Publishing Perspectives are here. More from us on the Chinese market is here.

More from us on the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on international book publishing is here.