With China almost completely absent from the British education system, researchers have warned that a lack of understanding can lead to lost opportunities and even discrimination and Sinophobia. 

Shu Lin's Grandpa aims to help address the issue by giving young children a glimpse of the difficulties of integrating cross cultures, but also the power that art has to unite.

The book, shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal and available in both English and Chinese, features a young child struggling to explain her Chinese heritage to her British classmates. 

In steps her grandpa, an artist who produces traditional Chinese ink paintings, which fascinate the children and encourage them to learn something new. 

"I think for me a picture book is a very good way" to encourage integration, said Yu Rong, who illustrated the story, "Because for children, they start to read picture books as they grow up. They are open minded to different cultures, they will understand and they will judge things by their own experience."

Yu was speaking at the London Book Fair, where 860 publishers, including more than 60 from China, were showcasing their latest offerings and discussing the future of the industry.