Wang Jinzhan, executive secretary of the China Association for Science and Technology

Kong Vireak, Secretary-General of the Alliance for Cultural Heritage in Asia (ACHA), and Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts of Cambodia

Ong Tee Keat, Senior Fellow of Taihe Institute, President of the BRI Caucus for Asia Pacific

Tan Ping, director of Art Exhibitions China

Cultural heritage is the witness and carrier of the inheritance of human history and civilization. Transcending time and borders, it has a deep and enduring history, and everlasting charms. Asia, with the world's largest population, is an important birthplace of human civilization, fostering a diverse and valuable cultural heritage.

Chinese scientists have always been devoted to protecting cultural heritage and promoting dialogue between civilizations, using practical actions to tell the world the story of Asian culture.

President Xi Jinping pointed out that "we must employ new methods and tools provided by science and technology to enhance the discovery and analysis capabilities of archaeological work and improve the protection capacity of historical and cultural heritage". In the new era, Chinese scientists are contributing their intelligence and expertise to the protection of cultural heritage in broader fields, rejuvenating ancient Asian civilizations with even greater vitality.

We strive to preserve cultural heritage. Advanced methods such as laser measurement technology, modern imaging techniques, spectroscopic analysis, image recognition, and artificial intelligence are widely used in archaeology, nondestructive testing and pathology analysis of cultural relics, digital collection and scene reproduction. They provide new means for the protection of cultural heritage and extend the life and value of cultural heritage, and allow cultural heritage to nurture the development and progress of human society for a longer duration.

We work to make cultural value come alive. Chinese scientists use 3D scanning technology and geographic information systems to help map the Angkor Wat site in Cambodia and monitor its preservation. Through drone aerial photography, remote sensing technology and digital mapping, they recreate the military defense systems and agricultural irrigation systems of ancient Rome. They use digital technology, new media, and the internet to allow artifacts in the Forbidden City, murals in the Maijishan Grottoes, and inscriptions on ancient bamboo slips to transcend time and reach the world.

We strive to pass on conservation experience. The Palace Museum in Beijing has established the China-Greece Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Cultural Heritage Conservation Technology and fostered extensive research cooperation with international peers. The Dunhuang Academy has conducted numerous Silk Road ancient site investigations and exchanges, transferring heritage conservation technology to countries such as Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Iran.

The China Association for Science and Technology consists of 217 academic organizations in various scientific fields, closely connecting and serving over 6.1 million science and technology workers. We are committed to promoting cross-border mutual understanding, trust, and cooperation, enhancing the common well-being of humanity, achieving shared prosperity in world civilization, and co-creating a better future for human society.

Harmony is the sound of things that go together well. Today's discussion on the theme "Civilizations in harmony" itself suggests how civilizations should go together well. … All over the world we all stand together. We face practically the same risks, and our ways and means of sustainable management of sites and monuments are inspired by the same principles.

Cambodia was one of the countries in Asia influenced by Buddhism and Hinduism in its first period of history and has engaged in diplomatic and trade relations with Chinese and Indian diplomats. Chinese civilization can be seen in the way of daily practices tangibly and intangibly. Cambodia's ancient religious architecture and urbanization and ritual practices, as well as cooking and trade commodities, attest to the aforementioned.

The Chinese government formed one of the first international teams, called the Chinese Government Team for Safeguarding Angkor, and joined the conservation works in Angkor in 1998. China has also been playing a crucial role in safeguarding and developing the UNESCO-listed Preah Vihear Temple in northern Cambodia. China is the co-chair of the International Coordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and the Development of Preah Vihear with India.

Angkor is at the heart of an extraordinary human and scientific adventure where the activity to safeguard and develop this outstanding cultural site will remain a spectacular example of international solidarity.

Other World Heritage sites throughout the world have taken inspiration from the experiments carried out in Angkor. Attention paid to the process of World Heritage in Angkor shows us how it has significantly influenced power politics and opened an arena for competition all around, rather than being just about preserving heritage.

The Angkor World Heritage Site is not just a collection of ancient buildings and forests. Local knowledge and the way the local inhabitants have lived in and associated with the environment and Angkor temples may also be considered valuable "intangible" heritage. It is therefore important to integrate their concerns and wishes into policymaking, and the mechanism of heritage protection and development should go together well.

Time and again, China's narratives have made it clear that models of democracy and the upholding of human rights are grounded in the respective civilizational norms and societal priorities that vary across the world. There is no single model or bench mark that fits all. The coercive imposition of the Western model on others, particularly the vulnerable developing and least-developed nations, irrespective of the local social conditions, is by itself hegemonic in nature.

Under the prevailing "Might is right" rules-based order, the weaponization of democracy and human rights has been granted carte blanche to legitimize "regime change" by the West, albeit at the heavy price of ensuing humanitarian disasters in many instances.

On the contrary, the rollout of the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI) provides the world with a refreshing alternative, where the wisdom of "harmony in diversity" allows co-existence, harmonizing and the mutual learning of diverse cultures. In other words, all-embracing inclusivity with constructive engagement is now an emerging choice on the horizon of global governance.

In the present global perspective dominated by the West's supremacy, the non-West groupings like the BRICS+ is no more than a constellation of states with very diverse, or even diametrically opposed political systems and values. The grouping may share the same aspirations in pursuing a global reform which entails a more representative, fairer international order, a coordinated and functional multilateral system, but devoid of a common value that holds them together under the West's prism.

This is precisely where the blind spot is, as inclusivity itself would make an ideal common denominator holding the Global South nations together. The pluralistic world is not destined to embark on a trajectory of a "clash of civilizations", as was contended by the late US political scientist Samuel Huntington. The theory would only become a self-fulfilling prophecy if the global hegemon is going hellbent to stoke conflicts along the religious and cultural seams.

Art Exhibitions China is the nation's first institution that specializes in the international exchanges of cultural relics exhibitions. For more than 50 years, under the leadership of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, it has launched more than 340 national-level major cultural relics exhibitions, the footprints of which span more than 60 countries and regions, attracting more than 80 million viewers.

By the end of the last century, with gradual improvement in international exchanges, the number of Chinese cultural relics exhibitions being shown abroad had increased rapidly, and their influence had been greatly enhanced.

The exhibitions were increasingly highlighted in head-of-state diplomacy, as well as bilateral and multilateral diplomacy. They were included in the intergovernmental cooperation mechanism on people-to-people exchanges and played an important role in promoting the healthy development of relations between countries. In this century, these exhibitions have opened a new stage of joint exhibitions. They are telling the stories of China, the world's civilizations and the exchanges and mutual learning between them, and realizing the transformation from "who I am" to "the world and me".

In the future, we will further implement the Global Civilization Initiative and deepen exchanges and cooperation with the cultural heritage institutions of various countries. First, we will host a series of exhibitions on Chinese civilization, including some focused on new archaeological discoveries, grotto arts, the Silk Road and Chinese characters. These will explain clearly the origins of Chinese civilization and the characteristics of Chinese culture, enabling the world to have a better understanding of China's past, present and future.

Second, we will bring in exhibitions on world civilizations, display their outstanding achievements and unique charms, and strengthen the comparative study of world civilizations, so as to seek common ground while preserving differences and promoting the shared values of all humanity.

Third, we will actively build a platform for international exchanges and cooperation in cultural relics exhibitions, strengthen exchanges and cooperation with cultural heritage institutions of various countries in exhibition planning, academic studies and personnel exchanges.

COMPILED BY FANG AIQING, WANG RU, YANG YANG, YANG FEIYUE AND WANG KAIHAO