The extended 44th session of the World Heritage Committee opens in Fuzhou, and Ms. Sun Chunlan reads a congratulatory letter sent by President Xi Jinping and delivers a speech

On July 16, 2021, the extended 44th session of the World Heritage Committee was held in Fuzhou, Fujian, and Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, reads a congratulatory letter sent by Chinese President Xi Jinping and delivers a speech. Photo by Song Weiwei/Xinhua

Fuzhou, July 17 (Xinhua News Agency) -- The extended 44th session of the World Heritage Committee opened on July 16, 2021, in Fuzhou, Fujian. Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, read a congratulatory letter sent by Chinese President Xi Jinping and delivered a speech.

Ms. Sun Chunlan pointed out that the congratulatory letter from President Xi Jinping has added confidence and motivation for us to deepen our commitment to world heritage exchanges and cooperation and promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. In recent years, China has been adhering to the concepts of “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”, “the conservation of cultural relics benefits future generations”, among others, and has closely integrated heritage protection with the development of the cultural industries, ecological industries, and poverty reduction, and promoted continuous heritage protection. A natural reserve system with national parks as the main body has been put in place in China to severely crack down on crimes against cultural relics and to leave a rich historical and cultural heritage and natural heritage for all mankind.

On July 16, 2021, the extended 44th session of the World Heritage Committee opened in Fuzhou, Fujian, and Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, reads a congratulatory letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping and delivers a speech. This picture shows that Ms. Sun Chunlan visits related exhibitions before attending the opening ceremony. Photo by Song Weiwei/Xinhua

Ms. Sun Chunlan emphasized that world heritage is the common asset of mankind and the concerted efforts of the international community are called for to implement the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. China is willing to take practical actions to assume its international responsibilities, and jointly establish a world heritage education platform with UNESCO to help developing countries train professionals in heritage protection, support the implementation of UNESCO’s global priorities for Africa in the field of world heritage, and contribute to the world heritage protection, especially the improvement of the heritage protection capabilities of developing countries.

During her stay in Fuzhou, Ms. Sun Chunlan visited the “World Heritage in China” theme exhibition and the “World Heritage Forest - Carbon Neutrality” tree planting activity. She called for taking the session as an opportunity to deepen the commitment to international exchanges and cooperation, fully display China’s historic achievements in protecting cultural and natural heritage, and make world heritage a bridge of dialogue between civilizations.