The 44th World Heritage Committee was held on July 16th in the Fuzhou city of Fujian province. Sun Chunlan, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and vice premier of the State Council, delivered a speech and read the congratulation message from the president Xi Jinping.
Sun Chunlan said that the congratulation from the president Xi Jinping helped to improve our confidence and to offer more driving force to deepen the exchange about world culture and build a community for mankind with a shared future. In recent years, China had been following principles including “green mountains and lucid water were treasures” and “the protection of cultural relics influences both the current era and future”. Chinese government closely combined the the protection of cultural relics with the cultural and ecological industries, especially the poverty alleviation, to promote protection. The country had constructed a system of nature protected area with national park as the main part to crack down on crimes relating to cultural relics, so abundant historical, cultural and natural heritage could be left for mankind.
Sun Chunlan stressed that world heritage was a wealth for all human, so international cooperation was needed to implement Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. Chinese authority would like to carry out our international responsibilities with action; build a world heritage education platform with UNESCO; help developing countries to nurture professional talents to protect the world heritage; support the UNESCO’s decision to see Africa affairs as the priority in the field of world heritage and contribute to the improvement of developing countries’ ability to protect world heritage.
When Sun Chunlan was in Fuzhou city, she visited the exhibition of the “world heritage in China” and participated in the plating activity named the “woods of the world heritage·carbon neutral”. She required that with the opportunity offered by the World Cultural Heritage, the government should deepen the international cooperation, present China’s historic achievement of the protection of cultural and natural heritage and let the world heritage to be a bridge to promote communication between civilizations.
Envoys to China from 56 countries attended the opening ceremony of the World Heritage Conference. They visited earth buildings of Fujian province (special local architecture), Sanfang Qixiang of Fuzhou city (literally three lanes and seven alleys), Quanzhou Maritime Museum in Fujian province. They learned China’s practice, especially that of Fujian, to protect world’s heritage so as to promote mutual learning between civilizations and to contribute to the protection of the world heritage.