Recently, the deputy ministers Zhao Shaohua and Wang Wenzhang of the Ministry of Culture met Francisco Bandelin in Tibet Hotel. He is Assistant Director-General of UNESCO who came to China to attend to the international training conference of the Asia-Pacific region intangible cultural heritage. If you pay attention to the news of this field when you study in Mandarin language courses in China, you may know Mr. Zhao gave a warmly welcome to Bandelin and appreciated the focus and support that he gave to the Asia-Pacific Center.
After formal establishment of Asia-Pacific Center, China will further on this platform and under the support and guide of UNESCO so that to make contribution to protect the non-material cultural heritage of this region and even the whole world as well as the construction of national ability. As the member of Convention on Protection of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and Convention on Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expression Forms, China initiatively participates in the formulation and implementation of the two conventions and cooperates with UNESCO with various forms.
China is willing to continue to work closely with UNESCO to make contributions to the protection of cultural heritage and promotion of cultural diversity. Some students who learn to speak Chinese may also notice that Chinese side will hold the fourth China International Intangible Cultural Heritage Festival in Chengdu in 2013 with the theme of the tenth anniversary of the Convention on Protection of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, hoping UNESCO jointly organize it with China and inviting the Director-General of UNESCO come to China to attend to it.
When congratulating the establishment of Asia-Pacific Center, Bandelin thought that the establishment of the center will play an important role in promoting the UNESCO’s capability of developing the global strategies, hoping the center can cooperate with the countries like Korea and Japan to make contributions to the protection of the local intangible cultural heritage.
Bandelin spoke highly of China for the close cooperation with the UNESCO in the area of culture, claiming that China is in the leading place in many fields such as the world heritages and intangible heritages. Just as the foreigners who learn Chinese language in China know, the UNESCO also attach much attention to the relationship with China and is willing to develop more cooperating projects. At the same time, UNESCO hops to gain the support of China because it is in the difficult period.