Princeton University Press (PUP) has launched an online storefront for readers in mainland China, in partnership with China National Publications Import and Export Corporation (CNPIEC). The platform currently offers nearly 1,000 English-language titles from the publisher's catalog, with plans to expand the offering to its entire catalog in the future. All titles are fulfilled using print-on-demand technology.
"Having explored the Chinese market for nearly a decade, we have been welcomed and inspired by collaborations across China's academic, publishing, and e-commerce ecosystem," Lingxi Li, managing director of Princeton University Press China, said. According to Li, the "online flagship store will significantly expand the cross cultural and geographic understanding of PUP's intellectual innovation."
Since opening for business this month, the storefront has sold several hundred copies from the list, ranging from The Pocket Instructor: Writing—50 Exercises for the College Classroom, edited by Amanda Irwin Wilkins and Keith Shaw; The Dean of Shandong: Confessions of a Minor Bureaucrat at a Chinese University by Daniel Bell; Technology and the Rise of Great Power: How Diffusion Shapes Economic Cohesion by Jeffrey Ding; and a newly released edition of Marx’s Capital: Critique of Political Economy, edited by Paul North and Paul Reitter and translated by Reitter.
Zhang Likun, president of CNPIEC, said that the collaboration "marks a significant milestone in the realms of new retail and print-on-demand for CNPIEC Digital Technology." Zhang noted that the company's "efficient supply chain system" would provide Chinese scholars with "a more convenient book purchasing experience."
The initiative builds on PUP's existing presence in China, which began with the opening of its Beijing office in 2017. The publisher maintains a staff of eight employees in China working across institutional and retail channels.
