The Chinese embassy in Argentina received 14 pieces of cultural relics returned to China from the South American country on Thursday.
The oldest of these artifacts, a set of chime bells, date back more than 2,500 years.
The 14 pieces of returned cultural relics were illegally smuggled out of China. In 2017, they were intercepted by the Argentine police in a joint international operation of Interpol to combat the illegal trafficking of cultural relics.
China's State Administration of Cultural Heritage started in 2019 to coordinate with the Chinese Embassy in Argentina on their return, and continuously worked for this end. On December 12, 2023, the Argentine court finally ruled to return the 14 pieces of cultural relics. After they were handed over to the Chinese Embassy in Buenos Aires, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage will arrange for their delivery back to China.
A returning ceremony was held in Buenos Aires on Thursday.
"After several years of efforts, we have finally reached the point when these artifacts can be returned to the place they should have been in," said federal judge Sandra Arroyo Salgado.
Argentina returns 14 pieces of cultural relics to China
