Explore new ways of folk collection and promote the return of overseas cultural relics

In the Administrative Measures for the Management of cultural relics collected by shanghai citizens, which has been officially implemented since March 2020, Shanghai further explicitly requires the establishment of a consultation service mechanism for the appraisal of cultural relics in private collections. The picture shows that in June 2020, the Shanghai Social Cultural Relics Industry Association held the "Shanghai Citizens' Collection of Cultural Relics Public Welfare Appraisal consultation activity" under the guidance of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics. (Image source: Wenhui client)

In recent years, with the rapid development of China's social economy, the collection of cultural relics has become a hot spot for cultural consumption. The scale of China's cultural relics market has steadily ranked in the forefront of the world, and has played an important role in meeting the needs of the people for collection and appreciation and promoting cultural development and prosperity. However, at the same time, it should also be noted that the problems of irregular appraisal services, unbalanced market supply, unobstructed circulation channels, and market environment to be optimized restrict the healthy development of cultural relics collection and cultural relics market, causing widespread concern from all walks of life.

Recently, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the State Administration of Market Regulation, jointly issued the Opinions on Strengthening the Management of Cultural Relics Collected by Private Residents and Promoting the Orderly Development of the Cultural Relics Market (hereinafter referred to as the Opinions). The "Opinions" focus on the key difficulties of social cultural relics and the problems of reform and development, and explore the protection and utilization of cultural relics in private collections and the orderly development of the cultural relics market.

Establish a normal mechanism for public interest consultation on cultural relics appraisal

With the continuous improvement of economic and social development and the people's living standards, the enthusiasm for folk cultural relics collection continues to rise, and the collection group gradually moves from a small minority to the public, but the vast majority of collection enthusiasts do not have the necessary collection knowledge and cultural relics appraisal expertise, and the call for the state to set up professional cultural relics appraisal institutions and provide professional appraisal services is very strong.

The State Administration of Cultural Heritage said that in 2020, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage launched a pilot project for the comprehensive reform of social cultural relics in Shanghai, explored the establishment of a public welfare consulting service mechanism for cultural relics appraisal, and guided Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shaanxi and other provinces to organize cultural and museum units to carry out public welfare appraisals. In the past two years, more than 700 appraisal activities have been carried out nationwide, and more than 90,000 collections have been identified free of charge for more than 30,000 collectors.

On the basis of summarizing the work experience of public welfare appraisal, the "Opinions" clearly proposes to establish a normal mechanism for public welfare consultation on cultural relics appraisal, and encourage qualified state-owned museums, state-owned cultural relics stores, and cultural relics appraisal and evaluation institutions involved in the case to provide public welfare consulting services to the society. At the same time, it will further explore the establishment of a national cultural relics appraisal and assessment management system, implement qualification management for cultural relics appraisal institutions and personnel, standardize cultural relics appraisal business activities, and provide standardized and high-quality appraisal services to the majority of collection enthusiasts.

Explore the establishment of a registration and trading system for cultural relics collected by the people

At the same time, the "Opinions" also proposes to explore the establishment of a registration and trading system for cultural relics collected by the people, and for cultural relics to be traded voluntarily declared by cultural relics business entities, which are not within the scope of prohibited trade in cultural relics, they can be traded in the market after registration with the professional institutions designated by the relevant administrative departments for cultural relics.

According to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the registration and trading system has two key points, one is to clarify the conditions for the circulation of cultural relics into the market, clearly prohibit the scope of trading of cultural relics, so that cultural relics business entities and collection enthusiasts clearly know which cultural relics can be traded and which cannot be traded. The second is to establish a credit supervision and management system with the classification of enterprises and the classification of subject matters as the core, establish a credit benchmark for cultural relics transactions, and guide enterprises to operate legally and in good faith.

Promote tax incentives and encourage public welfare displays

In recent years, a large number of overseas cultural relics have returned, and the "Opinions" propose to promote the return of overseas cultural relics and strictly control the loss in terms of promoting the return of overseas cultural relics.

China is one of the countries with the most serious loss of cultural relics in history, especially in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, where a large number of cultural relics were displaced due to war looting, cultural plunder, and illegal trade. For a long time, we have promoted the return of overseas cultural relics through government recourse, overseas donations, and participation of social forces.

According to reports, the State Administration of Cultural Relics actively communicates and consults with the Ministry of Finance, the State Administration of Taxation, the General Administration of Customs and other departments to study tax policies to promote the return of overseas cultural relics. In order to better play the social benefits brought about by preferential tax policies, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage has introduced measures to encourage cultural relics exhibits that enjoy tax exemption policies to carry out public welfare display services for not less than 3 years in state-owned cultural relics collection units.

The "Opinions" issued this time proposes to carry out the registration of cultural relics on a pilot basis, actively study and adjust the tax policy for promoting the return of overseas cultural relics, optimize the management of the temporary entry and exit of cultural relics and trade facilitation services, give full play to the advantages of the opening up of key platforms such as the pilot free trade zone, the comprehensive pilot demonstration of the expansion and opening up of the national service industry, the comprehensive bonded zone, and the import expo, and guide and encourage the return of overseas cultural relics and provide public welfare services such as exhibitions to the society.

At the same time, the "Opinions" also proposes to strengthen the construction of national cultural relics entry and exit examination institutions, improve the national standard system for the review of the export of cultural relics of various types, prevent the loss of cultural relics, and ensure the supply of the domestic cultural relics market. Docking international conventions and relevant laws of countries of origin of cultural relics, improving the management system for the entry and operation of foreign cultural relics, and regulating the channels for the entry of foreign legal cultural relics.

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In view of the main body of cultural relics management, the "Opinions" put forward that, first, explore lowering the threshold for the quasi-operation of cultural relics stores, optimize the requirements for the establishment of cultural relics stores in terms of registered capital, professionals, etc., and pilot the merchants involved in cultural relics management in the antique and flea markets that meet the conditions into the management of cultural relics stores. The second is to support the gradual reform and transformation of state-owned backbone cultural relics stores and cultivate the formation of large-scale cultural relics circulation enterprises. Strengthen the role of cultural relics stores as the main channel of the primary market, encourage cultural relics stores to expand related businesses, accelerate quality improvement and upgrading, and explore chain operations.