His book Cell Phone is a case in point. The Spanish translation of the story of relationships and betrayal, hinged on a phone accidentally left at home one day, has sold widely in Cuba and is already in its second edition.

The novel, which has been translated into some 20 languages, is very popular because it deals with a worldwide phenomenon, Liu said.

"The rise of the cellphone, the internet, Weibo or WeChat has changed people, their lifestyles and their attitude towards life. Science and technology have brought the same changes to our society as a whole, regardless of social system or religion," he said.

The emergence of new digital technologies has revolutionized the way people and societies communicate, and the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative is a reflection of that, using economy and culture to link people from different nations, Liu said.

Proposed by China in 2013, the initiative aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa, and beyond, based on ancient land and maritime trade routes.

In the world of publishing, China's Renmin University has joined the initiative by creating an alliance of academic publishing houses. Cuba's Nuevo Milenio publishing house recently joined the alliance.

The idea is to establish bilateral or multilateral cooperation mechanisms through exchange programs to serve as a communication platform between China and the rest of the world.

The Havana book fair runs until Feb 11.