Ancient legacies need modern alliances

International cooperation is becoming increasingly important in protecting and preserving World Heritage, as countries share experiences and explore new ways to work together, experts said on Wednesday at a parallel session themed "International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage Protection" of the 2026 Beijing Culture Forum.

Qu Xing, former deputy director-general of UNESCO, reviewed the development of the World Heritage protection system and its achievements over the past century. He said heritage sites face a range of challenges, including climate change, geopolitical conflicts, excessive tourism development and funding shortages.

"Against this backdrop, China's role in World Heritage protection has become increasingly prominent," Qu said. China joined the World Heritage Convention in 1985. In 2026, its number of World Heritage sites reached 61.

Qu highlighted China's contributions to international cooperation, including special funds supporting heritage conservation training in Africa and small island states, as well as initiatives such as the Alliance for Cultural Heritage in Asia.

Based in Beijing since this year, the alliance is Asia's first intergovernmental mechanism for cultural heritage cooperation, bringing together participants from 25 countries as members, partners or observers.

According to Xie Bing, executive secretary-general of the alliance, it will continue to make greater use of its multilateral platform to promote dialogue and cooperation on cultural heritage.

The discussion also turned to museums, which play a key role in preserving collective memory. By the end of 2025, China had more than 7,000 registered museums, which received 1.56 billion visits during the year, according to the National Cultural Heritage Administration.

"Behind these figures, I see confidence in cultural inheritance," said Marie-Cecile Zinsou, president of the board of directors of the French Academy in Rome — Villa Medici.

Zinsou founded the Zinsou Foundation in Benin 20 years ago to support museums and cultural initiatives. She noted growing interest in Chinese culture in the West African country and said artists there could explore new possibilities for cultural exchange with China.

Ding Pengbo, deputy director of the National Museum of China, called for deeper cooperation among museums in conservation technology, digital preservation standards and joint archaeological research.

Archaeology has also become an important area of international cooperation. Wang Wei, director of the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology, said that since 2020, more than 80 joint archaeological projects have been carried out with partners in over 30 countries, including excavations at Egypt's Karnak Temple complex and the Maya site of Copan in Honduras.

Such cooperation, he added, advances both archaeological research and heritage conservation, helping the legacy of ancient civilizations reach more people.

"No single country — no matter how powerful — can protect the world's heritage alone. The challenges are global. The solutions must therefore be global too," said Mohammed Saqib, secretary-general of the India China Economic and Cultural Council.

Saqib cited the restoration of the Angkor Wat in Cambodia and the Abu Simbel temples in Egypt as examples of international cooperation in heritage protection.

Building on such experiences, Zhan Changfa, former deputy director of the China Academy of Cultural Heritage, proposed measures including a special fund for international heritage cooperation, a global rapid-response network for endangered heritage, transnational training for young conservators and an annual white paper on international heritage cooperation.

Chinese and foreign experts also discussed how cultural heritage can strengthen dialogue and understanding among civilizations, while the Beijing Culture Forum provided a platform for international exchange and cooperation.