US hands over 64 smuggled artefacts to China in diplomatic push before leaders’ meeting

The United States has transferred 64 cultural items to China in a diplomatic effort ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to Washington. At a ceremony held at the Chinese embassy in Washington on Wednesday, China received 58 artifacts and fossils from the Cultural Property, Art and Antiquities program of the US Homeland Security Investigations.

Six more items were handed over a day later by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in New York. China's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Guo Jiakun, stated that the repatriation is a step towards implementing the mutual understandings reached by the two presidents during their recent meetings in Beijing. Guo emphasized the importance of pursuing a strategic relationship based on equality, mutual respect, and mutual benefit.

Among the items returned is a Bodhisattva statue from the Tianlong Mountain Grottoes in Shanxi province, which was stolen from China over a century ago. Xie Feng, China’s ambassador to the US, highlighted the significance of the repatriation, stating that it reflects the responsibility of both nations towards history and demonstrates that China-US cooperation built on mutual respect and benefit can achieve substantial, practical, and meaningful outcomes.

The handover took place just days before Xi’s scheduled visit, serving as a reciprocal arrangement following US President Donald Trump’s trip to Beijing in May. During that visit, the two leaders agreed on a new perspective for China-US relations, aiming to establish a constructive bilateral relationship characterized by strategic stability.

The returned artifacts, which include pottery figurines, stone sculptures, and fossils such as dinosaur and fish remains, were all illicitly smuggled into the US before being seized by American law enforcement. China and the US signed their first intergovernmental memorandum of understanding to prevent the illegal entry of Chinese cultural relics into the US in 2009, with subsequent renewals in 2014, 2019, and 2024.

This memorandum has led to the return of over 700 artifacts from the US. The largest single repatriation occurred in 2019, when 361 items were recovered. China has been increasingly active in advocating for global heritage restitution, publishing a collection of Chinese bronzes lost in overseas collections after a 14-year investigation in April. This effort is part of Beijing’s broader strategy to reclaim lost cultural heritage.