On March 6, 2024, the United States National Committee of ICOMOS hosted a group from ICOMOS China at the ICOMOS-USA office in Washington, DC. ICOMOS China requested this meeting to enhance communication between our respective national committees and to begin discussions on areas of joint interest and enhanced communication and collaboration.
Attending for ICOMOS-USA were Douglas Comer, President; Destry Jarvis, Vice-President; Tom Cassidy, Chair of the Advocacy Committee; Cindi MacLeod, Trustee; and Rudy D’Alessandro, U.S. National Park Service Office of International Affairs, Pacific-Asia Desk. The Chinese delegation was headed by Xie Li, Deputy Director of Secretariat ICOMOS China, and Tan Xu Xiang, Vice Mayor of Beijing.
ICOMOS China expressed a desire to establish a more open and effective platform for international exchange and cooperation on cultural heritage conservation, management, and public promotion, with World Heritage as a flagship. As a possible first step, ICOMOS China suggested that we might comment regarding the pending nomination of the Central-Axis of Beijing by means of a discussion about how it might be sustainably developed and maintained as a complex urban heritage, covering an historic urban landscape, ancient and modern architecture, and archaeological remains.