Book retail sales in China up 4.72% in 2023

BEIJING - China's retail sales of books totaled 91.2 billion yuan ($12.84 billion) in 2023, up 4.72 percent year-on-year, according to an annual report on the book market issued on Saturday.

The report said that short-video platforms became the second-largest book sales channel, following e-commerce platforms, and bookstore sales continued a downward trend.

There were 180,000 new titles on the book market last year, a 7.3 percent increase from 2022, according to the report.

Many new comic books -- for children and for adults -- were published, covering topics such as science, psychology, history, life and traditional culture, the report said.

Liu Cixin became the bestselling author of 2023, it noted.

The report was issued under the guidance of the Publishers Association of China and the Book and Periodicals Distribution Association of China.