HarperCollins will now sell its English language ebooks in China through a local online retailer. The deal launches with about 800 backlist titles including Divergent by Veronica Roth and The Alchemist by Paul Coelho, and works by Neil Gaiman, Lemony Snicket, C.S. Lewis and Beverly Cleary.

This is an important step for books in China. The country has a huge population that is driving publishing there; allowing U.S. authors to gain traction with that population can open new doors for authors of every type.

Since the country is one of the worst for pirating ebooks, it’s critical that publishers provide legal ways for readers to access the books they want. The music industry learned that lesson the hard way by trying–and failing–to stop digital pirating of songs. Only when the music companies began offering easy ways for listeners to get songs legally did piracy drop.