China and UNESCO: Advance Hand in Hand

 

In 2004, the 28th Session of the World Heritage Committee was convened in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province.

Sci & Tech Exchange

China and UNESCO have seen smooth cooperation in science and technology since their very first collaborative project. From 1975 to 1983, the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (ISTIC) sent talents to study at UNESCO and invited foreign experts to give lectures in China, cultivating over 200 ICT specialists.

Cooperation between China and UNESCO covers a wide range, including physics, chemistry, information, automation, environment, biology, marine science, hydrogeology, and computer science. UNESCO allows China access to numerous programs, such as the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, International Hydrological Program, Man and Biosphere Program, International Geological Correlation Program, General Information Program, and Intergovernmental Informatics Program. The projects and discussions in those areas have proved helpful, not only in promoting the development of science and technology, environmental protection, and information development in China, but also in providing opportunities for China to make its contribution to international sci & tech cooperation.

A number of China’s scientists have won UNESCO awards over the years. From 1987 to 1995, China, via a Germany-based trust fund, launched a large-scale China-Germany research program on ecology, covering forests, water, and urban ecological systems, and achieved great success. Yuan Longping, Chinese scientist of hybrid rice, and Wang Xuan, professor at Peking University, won the UNESCO Science Prize in 1987 and 1995, respectively. Chen Zhangliang, professor at Peking University, and Chen Yongchuan, professor at Nankai University, were awarded the UNESCO Javed Husain Prize for Young Scientists in 1991 and 1997, respectively.   

Cultural Heritage Preservation

On August 31, 2015, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova visited Shaanxi Province in China and conferred on it certification for the Silk Road to be inscribed on the World Heritage List. The inscription was co-submitted by China, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. During the trip she also visited world cultural heritage sites in the province such as the terracotta warriors. At the museum of this terracotta army from 2,300 years ago, Irina Bokova wrote in the guestbook that UNESCO was proud to work with Chinese experts to protect the site together.

As a country with an ancient civilization and long history, China has 38 world intangible cultural heritage sites and 48 world cultural and natural heritage sites, among which 30 are cultural heritage, 10 are natural heritage, four are of cultural and natural mixed properties and four are cultural landscapes.

China ratified the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World’s Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1985. In 1987, the first batch of cultural sites in the country, including the Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian, the Mogao Grottoes, Mount Tai, the Great Wall, and the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, were listed as World Heritage sites. Since then more Chinese cultural sites have made the list. As part of its assessment process, UNESCO dispatched experts to China to provide training and guidance on how to better protect those cultural and natural heritage sites.

In 2004, the 28th Session of the World Heritage Committee was convened in Suzhou City in China, gaining national and worldwide attention. Many of China’s achievements, such as issuing relevant laws and regulations on protecting world heritage, are recognized by international society and the World Heritage Committee. In 2003, the Guang Yu Ancestral Hall in Qiangang Village of Cong-hua City in Guangdong Province was given an award for excellent protection of the site. In 2012, Zhang Xinsheng, then chairman of UNESCO’s Executive Board, said that China had made much headway in heritage protection; however, he warned that because China housed so many heritage sites, it was still a tough job to balance the development of the economy and the protection of those sites.

While receiving support from UNESCO, China has also carried out its obligations by sending experts to neighboring countries to provide technical support in the protection of their world heritage sites.

On November 5, 2013, China’s Vice Education Minister Hao Ping was elected president of the 37th Session of UNESCO’s General Conference. Irina Bokova said during an interview with Oriental Outlook that China had showed great leadership ability and the election of Hao Ping demonstrated UNESCO’s recognition of China’s influence and leadership power.

China and UNESCO are bound to carry out further cooperation in the future.