The 61st Frankfurt Book Fair closed on Sunday, with China handing over the guest of honor title to Argentina for next year's event. Chinese publishers made an unprecedented number of copyright deals at the Fair, signing contracts for more than two-thousand copyright items.

According to the Deputy Director of China's General Administration of Press and Publication, Wu Shulin, China presented 612 events over the past eight months making over 1,000 copyright deals, and exporting nearly 2-thousand-5-hundred Chinese book copyrights all in conjunction with the book fair.

Renowned Chinese author, Wang Meng, read aloud in Chinese from his work at the handover ceremony.

The Frankfurt Book Fair is the world's largest and most important of its kind. The 2009 event ran from October 13th to the 18th, and featured over 4-hundred-thousand books from more than 100 countries. The display drew over one-hundred-and-eighty-thousand international trade visitors.

China, as this year's Guest of Honor country, set a new record by sending a delegation of more than 100 writers, 300 actors and actress as well as some 700 publishers and traders.

The two-thousand-plus copyright deals made by Chinese publishers also set a record at this year's Fair.

Of those contracts, Chinese publishers imported 1,310 copyright items, and exported 883 titles to foreign counterparts.

For local visitors, the shows were more attractive. They attended exhibitions, lectures, and seminars about Chinese literature, culture, and society held during the Fair.

In all, more than 600 Chinese cultural events were held by Chinese organizers to boost dialogue between Chinese scholars and their foreign counterparts and to enhance local people's understanding of China.