The State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) held a press conference on Saturday during which it presented a summary of the international exchanges, cooperation and inspection of cultural relics it has carried out overseas.
"We are currently aiding foreign organizations to preserve cultural relics in Cambodia, Uzbekistan, Nepal and Myanmar. These relics are UNESCO cultural heritage sites that belong to all human beings," Xie Bing, the head of SACH's executive office, said at the conference.
Xie also emphasized that during 2018, they are going to finish a project to preserve the Ta Keo temple in Cambodia and launch new conservation projects in Dharahara in Nepal and Khiva in Uzbekistan.
In addition to these protection efforts, SACH will seek out new opportunities to protect cultural relics in countries and regions such as Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Xie said, emphasizing that these projects are important pillars of China's international diplomacy.
In keeping with the spirit of the Belt and Road initiative, SACH is also cooperating with scientific institutions and cultural relic organizations in China to improve archaeological excavation projects and protection of cultural relics in Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
"We need to keep a positive attitude toward the conservation of cultural relics. With the U.S. withdrawal from UNESCO, China has to shoulder the responsibility for international protection of cultural heritage."
