BEIJING, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- An international book fair, organized by the China National Publications Import and Export (Group) Co., Ltd, kicked off Thursday in the lead-up to the upcoming Spring Festival.

Aiming at boosting cultural exchanges and people-to-people ties between China and the world through books, the event is participated in by 111 book stores across the world, said the organizer.

Held around the holiday season of the Spring Festival, the book fair will showcase a collection of quality publications representative of the Chinese spirit and wisdom in both brick-and-mortar book stores and online platforms across the globe.

In his address delivered at the event's opening ceremony, Wang Zhicheng, an official of the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, expressed the expectation that, through books, Chinese stories would be better presented to the world, and the joyous atmosphere of the Spring Festival and Winter Olympics can be better conveyed to overseas audiences.