Ragnar Baldursson, a Sinologist in Iceland, has accomplished a cross-cultural milestone by translating Xi Jinping: The Governance of Chinainto Icelandic, making it the first Nordic-language edition of the book.
The translation of the influential book, which offers readers direct insights into the political philosophy of the Chinese president, was motivated by Baldursson's commitment to better understanding China's evolving role in the modern world.
Initially, Baldursson approached the task with some trepidation, recalling the two years he spent in his youth translating The Analects of Confucius. "It was a time-consuming and difficult task," he said. However, the belief that the process of translating Xi's book would further enrich his knowledge of China's development convinced him to accept the job.
"I was right," Baldursson said. "As I submerged myself in the translation of Xi Jinping's political thought, I found that many of his ideas echo the altruistic thinking of political idealists in ancient China."
In October 2022, the Icelandic edition of the first volume of Xi Jinping: The Governance of Chinawas launched in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland.
Baldursson, who has worked as a diplomat for 25 years and once served as deputy head of the embassy of Iceland in Beijing, suggested that every serious diplomat based in Beijing read the book.
"Actually, this applies to everyone who wants to understand China's rejuvenation and its significance for the rest of the world," he said.
It offers a different perspective compared with those reports and analyses on China's political priorities written by self-declared China specialists, he said.
According to Baldursson, the reader can follow step by step how Xi has advanced China's reform and opening-up to promote sustainable development, focusing on poverty alleviation, innovation, quality and ecological preservation.
Since the debut of the first volume 10 years ago, a total of four volumes of Xi Jinping: The Governance of Chinahave been published in multiple languages and distributed at home and abroad.
"Each volume brings further information on China's progress, problems and plans for solving them. Reading these books as they are published gives a comprehensive overview about the priorities of the Chinese government in a clear and transparent manner," said Baldursson.
Over the past decade, a series of essential works by Xi, including Up and Out of Poverty, Xi Jinping on the Belt and Road Initiative, Xi Jinping on Building a Human Community with a Shared Future, and a compilation of excerpts from discourses on Chinese modernization have been translated into over 40 languages and published in around 180 countries and regions.
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev wrote a foreword for the Uzbek edition of Xi's book Up and Out of Poverty, which was published in November 2023. "This book by President Xi Jinping has rich political, economic and philosophical connotations, and reflects his profound thinking on poverty alleviation and the well-being of the people," he wrote.
As Uzbekistan plans to lift half of its impoverished population out of poverty by the end of 2026, the Uzbek president has said on many occasions that China's experience in poverty reduction is noteworthy, and delegations have been sent to China to study the experience with the aim of implementing similar initiatives in the Central Asian country.
In June, the French, Russian, Arabic and Spanish editions of the first two volumes of Selected Readings from the Works of Xi Jinpingwere made available at home and abroad, after the English edition was published in March.
Rajan Bhattarai, a member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) and head of the CPN's Foreign Affairs Department, said he found the book thought-provoking.
"It provides great details about the work the Communist Party of China has been pursuing under his leadership. Xi has expressed his thoughts and vision with great clarity on each and every subject," he said.
Noting that Xi's thoughts are in-depth guiding principles for the new era, Bhattarai said, "Many of his views and opinions are based on practical experiences and make sense in our context as well."
As Xi's works are being translated into more languages and published overseas, foreign readers who are interested in China's political priorities and the country's success now have the chance to hear the answers directly from the Chinese leader.
For Wirun Phichaiwongphakdee, director of the Thailand-China Research Center of the Belt and Road Initiative, the book Xi Jinping: The Governance of Chinais like the "secret to successfully governing a country".
Calling the book "a valuable treasure for developing countries", Phichaiwongphakdee said, "Every time I read Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, I feel like I'm seeking wisdom from a learned sage, experiencing the Chinese leader's love for his family and country through his down-to-earth words.
"Most importantly, it allows the world to experience the remarkable course of China's reform and development through the macro perspective of the Chinese leader."
Rana Ali Qaisar Khan, executive member of the Central Standing Committee of the National Party of Pakistan, said that Selected Readings from the Works of Xi Jinpingdescribes the beautiful vision of building a world of lasting peace, universal security, common prosperity, openness, inclusiveness and clean beauty, and provides China's wisdom and China's plan for maintaining world peace and promoting common development.
Khan said he will use the ideological essence he learned from the book to help promote the development of the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between China and Pakistan.
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