BEIJING, June 12 -- The upcoming 31st Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF) will gather over 1,700 exhibitors from 80 countries and regions to display approximately 220,000 Chinese and international books, the fair's organizers said at a press conference on Thursday.

The book fair will open on June 18 and run through June 22, with Malaysia as this year's guest country of honor.

It will have an exhibition space of 60,000 square meters. Nine countries are participating for the first time, including Chile, Cyprus and Belarus, and they will join leading publishers such as Elsevier, Penguin Random House and Springer Nature.

The event will introduce specialized sections such as world cultural heritage and books marking the 80th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

It will also include activities such as an awards ceremony, forums on international publishing and children's books, and a copyright trade fair.

First held in 1986, the BIBF has evolved into a premier global platform for book exhibition and copyright trade.