Integrated news: Promote exchanges and mutual learning between different civilizations, and protect the world's cultural and natural treasures-People from many countries speak highly of Chinese President Xi Jinping's congratulatory letter to the extended 44th session of the World Heritage Committee

Beijing, July 17 (Xinhua News Agency) -- Integrated reports from Xinhua News Agency's foreign correspondents: The extended 44th session of the World Heritage Committee opened on July 16, 2021, in Fuzhou, Fujian. Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the session, in which he emphasized that China is willing to work with all countries across the globe and UNESCO to strengthen exchanges and cooperation, promote dialogue and mutual learning, support the cause of world heritage protection, jointly safeguard the cultural and natural treasures of humanity, and promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. People from many countries said that China had attached great importance to the protection of cultural and natural heritage and had made great efforts in this regard, providing other countries with useful experience and lessons and making important contributions to the protection of world cultural and natural heritage and the promotion of dialogue among world civilizations.

Mr. Lyazid Benhami, vice president of the Amicale France Chinein Paris, France, fully agrees with President Xi Jinping’s ideas on protecting the world’s cultural and natural heritage in the congratulatory letter. He believes this shows that China has attached great importance to the safeguarding of cultural and natural heritage and that China’s efforts to protect the cultural and natural heritage have provided useful references for other countries.

Bosnia-Herzegovina’s political commentator Ermin Chatga said that China is an ancient civilization with a long history and splendid culture. The continued improvements in China’s capability and caliber of cultural and natural heritage conservation have left a deep impression around the world. China has promoted the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, enhanced the peaceful coexistence and common development of mankind, and made important contributions to protecting world cultural and natural heritage.

Mr. Marco Antonio Santos, director of the Chichen Itza archaeological site, Mexico, fully agrees with President Xi Jinping’s views on the exchanges and mutual learning among different civilizations. He said it is of great significance for countries to share the experience and technology of protecting world heritage, and such exchanges have closely linked countries together. China has set a model for other countries to protect cultural and natural heritage and shown the world that the protection of historical heritage and economic development can be promoted hand in hand.

Mr. Maurício Santoro, director of the Department of International Relations at State University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, said that as President Xi Jinping noted, to properly protect, inherit and make good use of these precious treasures “is our shared responsibility, and is of vital importance to the continuity of human civilization and the sustainable development of the world”. In the face of issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, the international community should unite even more. He also said that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ideas on promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind will promote the efforts to seek a broad global consensus.

H.E. Long Ponnasirivath, Secretary of State and Spokesperson of the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts of Cambodia, has visited many world heritage sites in China and is full of praise for China’s efforts to protect the world heritage sites. He said that China’s protection of the world’s cultural and natural heritage is very effective and has been highly affirmed by the international community. Cambodia hopes to learn more relevant experiences from China.

Dr. Madan K Rimal, Dean of the Central Department of Nepalese History, Culture and Archaeology, Tribhuvan University, Nepal, said that China has reached out its hand to provide assistance for cultural heritage protection and restoration projects such as the post-earthquake restoration project of the Mahadev Temple in Durbar Square in Kathmandu, Nepal, and made important contributions to the rescue and protection of World Heritage properties. It is hoped that the cooperation and exchanges between Nepal and China to protect cultural and natural heritage will continue to be strengthened in the future.

Hamid Wafae, director of the Center for Asian Studies at the University of Tehran in Iran, said that President Xi Jinping’s emphasis on the importance of “properly protecting, inheriting and making good use of” the world cultural and natural heritage indicated that China had attached great importance to the sustainability and comprehensiveness in the process of development. President Xi Jinping’sfocus on strengthening exchanges and cooperation is of great significance to world heritage protection.

Natee Taweerifuengfung, president of the Thailand-based Siam think tank and vice president of the Panyapiwat Institute of Management, said that strengthening the protection of world heritage will not only promote the efforts of the international community to protect the cultural and natural treasures of all mankind jointly, but also promote dialogue between world civilizations and continue to inject momentum to the sustainable development of human civilization. (Reporters:Tang Ji, Zhang Xiuzhi, Zhu Yubo, Mao Pengfei, Song Yu, Chen Weihua, Wang Shoubao, Gao Wencheng, Zhou Shengping)