The exchange of literature between China and the West should be carried out on an equal basis, prominent Chinese contemporary literature writers said in Washington on Friday.

"Over the past 100 years, China has introduced the Western literature to the country and translated thousands of Western writers' works, including American writers' works," Zhao Lihong, a poet and literary critic, told the audience during a speech at Brookings Institution, an American think tank based in Washington D.C.

"However, the Western world has introduced limited amount of literature of China, especially the Chinese contemporary literature works," he said.

This gap makes the West less understand the Chinese literature, said Zhao, adding that "Only through an equal exchange, the West could better understand the Chinese literature." He hoped that the situation will change as the Chinese literature is booming and becoming more influential thanks to both the old and young generations' efforts.

Su Tong and Feng Tang, two other Chinese prominent authors, also attended the Brookings Institution's Friday event called " Contemporary Chinese literature: Voices of three generations."

Born in 1952, Zhao is one of China's most gifted poets and authors. He currently serves as director of the China Writers Association.

Su Tong, 52, has written seven full-length novels and over 200 short stories. "Raise the Red Lantern", "Rice", "Hongfen" are all his popular works. In 2009, Su Tong was awarded the Man Asian Literary Prize for his work "The Boat to Redemption", the second Chinese writer to win the prize.

Feng Tang, born in 1971, is the author of a series of novels deeply evocative of growing up in the Chinese capital Beijing during the 1990s. Feng's novels "Happiness", "Everything Grows", " Given a Girl at Age Eighteen" are popular with young readers.