Popular around the global, Harry Potter, the bespectacled boy magician from England, had his magic in China as well, selling a total of 1.1 million copies of his new story in 2003.

"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" brought a sales of 5.9 million yuan (about 713,000 US dollars) across the country last year, helping its Chinese publisher, the People's Publishing House, get an award from the State Press Authority on Thursday. Since 2000, when the first Harry Potter novel was brought to China, British author J.K. Rowling's stories of the broom-riding wizard have been read by millions of Chinese fans.

More than 10,000 copies of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" were sold on the first day the Chinese version was put on shelves last September, setting a national record for daily sales.

"It is more than a book about magic," said Liu Yushan, director of the People's Publishing House. "The human elements of the story have touched many Chinese readers."

"Im Donner-Temple," a German adventure story, was also honored for sales valued at 14.76 million yuan (approximately 1.8 million US dollars) last year. The serious "The Complete Collection of Einstein" sold well in 2003 as well.

Most of the books winning awards were from the United States and Europe, while some were from Japan, said the publishing authority.

Experts say China's overseas publications have improved, but are still weak compared with the foreign ones in China.

China's overseas publications mainly go to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK), with no more than five percent going to Europe and North America.

(Xinhua News Agency  September 3, 2004)