Romania, China sign agreement on prevention of theft, illegal trade in cultural goods

Culture Minister Bogdan Gheorghiu and ambassador of the People's Republic of China in Bucharest Jiang Yu signed on Friday, at the National Library of Romania, the Agreement between the Government of Romania and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the prevention of the theft, illegal digs and illegal trade in cultural goods.

"On the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, the Government of Romania and the Government of the People's Republic of China sign today the agreement on the prevention of the theft, illegal digs and illegal trade in cultural goods. By this step we become aware of our role and take responsibility for protecting the heritage of the future generations," said Culture Minister Bogdan Gheorghiu.

He pointed out that "trafficking of cultural goods deprives the countries of their cultural heritage", and that the agreement "protects both cultures against the phenomenon of heritage theft".

Ambassador of the People's Republic of China in Bucharest, Jiang Yu, said that China and Romania are connected by a deep friendship, and that there are close ties between the two peoples, between the hearts of the two peoples.

Culture is a driving force for the further development of our countries' friendship and collaboration partnership. From this moment we can achieve very concrete things, take a solid step forward with the new Government of Romania. (...) We are ready to continue promoting, to continue our efforts with the new Government of Romania, towards more concrete achievements, towards a pragmatic bilateral cooperation, the Chinese ambassador said.