Experts from the Chinese-English translation industry came together Tuesday seeking solutions for common challenges encountered in their work, particularly the adaptation of the 2010 Government Work Report, delivered by Premier Wen Jiabao in March.

The 20th Chinese-English Translation Seminar, held at the Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), featured heated discussion on some 60 ambiguous translations appearing in the report's official English version, such as "the purchase of owner-occupied houses" (zizhuxing zhufangxiaofei), "portability and continuity of pensions" (yanglaobaoxian guanxi zhuanyi jiexu) and "government subsidized home-appl iances - for- the-countryside"(jiadianxiaxiang).

Hosted by the International Communication Translation Committee of Translators Association of China (ICTCTAC), the seminar brought together more than 40 experts and scholars from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, State Council Legislative Affairs Office, the Xinhua News Agency, the China Daily and the Global Times newspapers.

"Good translation is based on keeping the original meaning while making it understandable for foreign readers," said Zhu Yinghuang, executive vice president of the ICTCTAC.

The seminar was set up 11 years ago to overcome the difficulties they meet in translating, especially on words with Chinese characteristics.

Zhu said regulating the translation industry has become more crucial for making China more easily understood by the world. "Better understood, better integrated into the world," he said.

Most experts at the seminar believe that official documents, such as the government work report, are the most challenging articles to be translated. "Many ambiguous or new words about economic development, politics or social life only have emerged in Chinese language, but do not have a counterpart translation in English," said Xu Hui, deputy director-general of the Department of Translation and Interpretation.

Young English learners feel the same. Liu Jue, a first-year translation grad student at BFSU, told the Global Times that it is always a headache for her to translate official documents.

"A sentence referring to a certain government policy usually makes me hesitant because I'm afraid to convey the wrong meaning and allow readers to misunderstand it," she said.

Xu Mingqiang, former editor-in-chief of the Foreign Languages Press, said it is impossible to come to a fixed or precise translation through discussion. But bringing experts together can clarify the correct approach.

"Different departments have different translation styles; like the Foreign Ministry is more cautious in selecting words, while newspapers are more lively," said Xu. "Translators should work in line with their own work environment."

The ICTCTAC was established in 1991 and currently consists of three translation teams: Chinese-English, Chinese-Japanese and Chinese- French.