HBS Press, The Commercial Press form Chinese publishing partnership

Harvard Business School (HBS) Press and The Commercial Press, the oldest publishing house in China, recently announced the formation of an exclusive partnership to publish HBS Press books in the Chinese language.

Under this agreement, The Commercial Press will translate and publish up to 150 HBS Press titles over the next three years. The two publishers will jointly create a special advisory board of Chinese-English experts in management and business to oversee the translation process. In addition, an important and unusual element of this partnership is the creation of a training program whereby each house will learn about editing, production, marketing, publicity, and distribution in the other’s market. Staff from The Commercial Press will visit the United States to learn the specifics of publishing in America, and staff from HBS Press will visit China to learn about the intricacies of publishing in the Chinese market.

“HBS Press is delighted to be partnering with The Commercial Press to publish our books in Chinese translation,” said David Goehring, vice president and director of HBS Press. “We are proud that the management principles in HBS Press books will be introduced to a new generation of leaders in China who wish to learn from the groundbreaking books we publish. We are also eager to undertake a unique program of cross-cultural training in order to share best practices and learn about each other’s market.”

Emphasizing HBS Publishing’s support for this new venture, HBS Press CEO David Wan said, “China has always been an important and strategic market for Harvard Business School Publishing. We’re pleased to have this opportunity to work with The Commercial Press to cultivate a stronger presence among Chinese business readers and a stronger business relationship between two powerful brands.”

Ray Carvey, chief operating officer of HBS Press, added, “This unique partnership is a good example of how we at Harvard Business School Press are living into our mission to improve the practice of management worldwide.”

“We treasure this opportunity to work with Harvard,” said Yang DeYan, president of The Commercial Press. “Throughout our 107 years, The Commercial Press has pioneered the modern Chinese publishing industry, advancing foreign culture and introducing translations of foreign classics to generations of readers in China. With the creation of this strategic alliance, The Commercial Press will build on that tradition by contributing to the training and cultivation of professional managers. It is our belief that these books from Harvard Business School Press will help China understand Western management thinking and broaden our view.”

In the news conference announcing the partnership at the People’s Great Hall in Beijing, chairman Yan MuZhi of China Publishing Group emphasized that point: “These books will advance the growth of professional managers in China, and will further enrich the product structure of The Commercial Press and broaden its influence in public education.”

This is the second international publishing partnership HBS Press has signed in the past year. In September 2003, HBS Press announced its agreement with Random House Kodansha to co-publish a select number of HBS Press titles in Japanese.