2026 Beijing Cultural Forum held to focus on international cooperation in cultural heritage protection

China News Service, Beijing, September 23 (Reporter Chen Hang and Zhang Huandi) The 2026 Beijing Cultural Forum "International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage Protection" parallel forum was held in Beijing on the 23rd. Leaders and experts and scholars from international organizations, cultural and museum institutions, and scientific research institutes focused on core issues such as the protection of the world heritage system, joint archeology and monument restoration, and museum digital cooperation.

Cultural heritage is the common memory of all mankind. Mohammad Saqib, secretary-general of the India-China Economic and Cultural Promotion Association, said that no country can protect world heritage sites alone. "Protection requires cooperation, and cooperation requires trust." Only by sincere cooperation among all countries can this common memory be protected from the erosion of war and time.

“In addition to protecting the world cultural heritage within its borders, China also attaches great importance to international cooperation.” Qu Xing, former deputy director-general of UNESCO, said that world heritage protection faces challenges such as climate change, geopolitical conflicts, over-tourism development, funding shortages, and imbalanced protection. International cooperation to protect world heritage is an integral part of building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Ding Pengbo, deputy director of the National Museum of China, said that in 2017, China joined the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH) as a founding member. The National Museum has long been deeply involved in the work of the Alliance's Scientific Committee, providing professional advice on heritage protection, and together with the Lens branch of the Louvre Museum in France and the Swiss National Museum, it has become one of the first batch of "International Cultural Relics Refuges" in the world. Currently, the Alliance has provided support to 450 projects in 35 countries.

Asia, as the intersection of multiple ancient civilizations, has densely distributed and diverse cultural heritage. Xie Bing, executive secretary-general of the Asia Cultural Heritage Protection Alliance, said that the Asia Cultural Heritage Protection Fund was established when the alliance was first established to broadly support transnational cultural heritage cooperation under the alliance’s framework. At present, cooperation projects have covered more than 20 projects in more than 10 countries including Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, involving the restoration of historical sites and joint archaeology, effectively promoting the transformation of cooperation consensus into specific protection actions.

Cultural heritage protection requires building global public governance through international cooperation. Luis Martinez, dean of the National Higher School of Public Administration in Mexico, believes that the uneven economic development of various countries has led to asymmetry in the ability to protect cultural heritage. The voices of the Global South are often marginalized in international forums on such issues. Therefore, multilateral organizations should be strengthened to make cultural heritage a bridge of mutual understanding between different civilizations through technical, scientific and financial cooperation mechanisms.