The Alliance for Cultural Heritage in Asia (ACHA) was officially established on Tuesday at the General Assembly of the ACHA in Xi'an City, northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

As a major practice of the Global Civilization Initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the establishment of the alliance is conducive to protecting Asian cultural heritage and deepening exchanges among Asian civilizations, while making the garden of world civilizations more flourishing.

Elaborating on the new initiative at the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting on March 15, Xi called for respecting the diversity of civilizations, advocating the common values of humanity, valuing the inheritance and innovation of civilizations, and strengthening international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation.

At the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations held on May 2019, Xi said that "China is ready to work with other countries to protect Asian cultural heritage and better preserve and sustain our civilizations," providing important guidance for deepening China's cooperation with other Asian countries in the protection of cultural heritage and promoting exchanges and mutual learning among Asian civilizations.

Making new Asian contributions to protecting essence of human civilization

As an important cradle of human civilization, Asia has nurtured, and is home to, an immeasurable wealth of cultural heritage, writing a splendid chapter in the annals of world civilizations, Xi said in a congratulatory letter sent to the General Assembly of the ACHA. 

Xi said that all parties, over the past four years, have actively responded and worked together to carry out practical cooperation in ancient civilization research, joint archaeology, restoration of historic sites and museum exchanges, making new Asian contributions to protecting the essence of human civilization. 

In recent years, China has cooperated in 11 historical sites' protection and restoration projects with six Asian countries, including Cambodia, and has carried out more than 20 joint archaeological cooperation projects with 14 Asian countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia, helping explore the context of Asian civilizations, and building a bridge of people-to-people bonds in Asia. 

What's more, the exhibitions of cultural relics from Asian countries vividly tell the story of exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations. 

Organized by the China Cultural Relics Exchange Center, the exhibition "Three Kingdoms: Unveiling The Story", featuring 161 precious Chinese cultural relics, opened to visitors at the Tokyo National Museum in the Japanese capital in 2019. 

The largest exhibition of Gandhara art ever held in China, showcasing the diverse cultures along the ancient Silk Road and the long history of China-Pakistan relations, took place at the Palace Museum in Beijing in March, receiving widespread attention at home and abroad. 

As Xi said in the letter, China is willing to work with all Asian countries to strengthen experience sharing on cultural heritage preservation, promote international cooperation in the cultural heritage sector, and establish a network for dialogue and cooperation among civilizations. 

Major practice of Global Civilization Initiative

As a major practice of the Global Civilization Initiative, the ACHA general assembly puts the spotlight on the importance of inheriting and developing Asian civilizations in various forms to shaping the common future of the Asian people. 

More than 21 Asian countries, as well as three key international organizations for cultural heritage including UNESCO, International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property and International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas, are attending the assembly. 

From the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative to the latest Global Civilization Initiative, China has presented the world with an ideological system that gets increasingly mature. 

Adding to the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind, China is trying to use its own wisdom, experiences and influence, based on its own successful development and exploration in the past decades, to help the world improve the international system and order, experts said. 

As Xi said when proposing the Global Civilization Initiative, tolerance, coexistence, exchanges and mutual learning among different civilizations play an irreplaceable role in advancing humanity's modernization process and making the garden of world civilizations flourish, as the future of all countries is closely connected nowadays.