The National Heritage Institute continues to express its solidarity with Chinese heritage professionals and to build projects with its partners in the People's Republic of China. The outbreak of Covid-19 forced the postponement of a visit in February 2020 of a delegation from the Northwest University in Xi'an to Aubervilliers, as well as another mission on site in April 2020. Nevertheless, expanding exchanges and works continue mainly around the Gonshutang project following the success of the field-school organized in collaboration with the Institute for the Protection of the Province of Shaanxi in October 2019 and the  implementation of a trilingual lexicon on heritage in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Heritage in Beijing. These actions benefit from the support of the Embassy of France in China within the framework of the agreement between Shaanxi Province and the Fondation des sciences du patrimoine (Foundation for Heritage Sciences).

Signature of an agreement of intent with Northwestern University, China

The director of the School of Integrated Heritage at the Northwestern University of Xi'an and the director of the National Heritage Institute expressed their intention last July, to work together on the pedagogical model of the conservation-restoration curriculum of the School of Heritage created in 1988. The Northwestern University in Xi'an has been a pioneer in the field of archaeology and conservation for decades, training scientists to become expert in their field gaining recognition throughout China.

The first exchanges between the two institutions on the training of heritage professionals took place as early as November 2017, during the symposium organized in Xi'an "Exchanges and mutual inspiration: the protection of cultural heritage in China and France".

In preparation for a Chinese-French-English heritage lexicon

The trilingual heritage lexicon project conducted jointly by Inp and the Chinese Academy of Heritage in Beijing continues to progress despite the distance between the two countries, with the support of the Fondation des sciences du patrimoine (Foundation for Heritage Sciences). To date, nearly 800 terms are being studied, following the guidelines defined during a work-in-progress organized at the end of 2019 at the Inp. Since 2017, several specialists have been consulted on this project: terminologist (terminology commission of the Ministry of Culture), interpreter, jurist, curators, restorers, sinologists. A first stage should be ready to be shared with the Chinese side and finalized in early 2021, in conjunction with the Cernuschi Museum and the Research Center for East Asian Civilizations.

This trilingual lexicon on heritage aims to facilitate international exchanges with China, within the framework of exhibitions, training courses, etc.