BEIJING, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Otis Elevator (China) Investment Co., Ltd. said Thursday that the company will launch a nationwide book donation campaign in order to improve safety awareness among children.

The book "How Children Stay Safe," jointly published by the China Children and Teenagers' Fund (CCTF), Otis and the Hope Publishing House, is the country's first book about general safety education for children, said Guo Xiao, assistant secretary-general of the CCTF.

The book is primarily aimed at children from ages 3 to 7 and covers a variety of topics, including food safety, staying safe at home and precautions for using elevators.

Guo said the CCTF received a donation of 20,000 books from Otis on Thursday.

The first batch of books will be donated to primary schools and kindergartens in major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, Otis president Tony Black said.

A report released last month by the United Nations Children's Fund revealed that tens of thousands of children in China die each year due to drownings, car accidents and other injuries such as suffocation, poisoning and falls.

Injuries have become the leading cause of death for children 5 to 14 years of age, according to the report.

The CCTF is an independent, non-profit children's charity organization. Headquartered in the U.S., the Otis Elevator Company is the world's largest manufacturer of elevators and escalators. 

                                        Editor: Deng Shasha