China-ASEAN Dialogue on AI and Culture Heritage held in Guangxi
The China-ASEAN Dialogue on AI and Cultural Heritage was held on July 3 in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, bringing together over 100 cultural experts, media professionals, and youth representatives from China and ASEAN countries to explore how artificial intelligence can help promote and preserve cultural heritage.
Chen Shi, deputy editor-in-chief of China International Communications Group (CICG), delivers a speech at the China-ASEAN Dialogue on AI and Cultural Heritage in Nanning, Guangxi, July 3, 2025. [Photo/CICG]
The event came as 2025 marks the ASEAN-China Year of People-to-People Exchanges and the 10th anniversary of the ASEAN Community. Focusing on cultural heritage cooperation, the dialogue aims to advance AI integration in cultural preservation and strengthen cultural ties between the two sides, said Chen Shi, deputy editor-in-chief of China International Communications Group (CICG), which hosted the dialogue.
Chen said she hopes the dialogue would foster substantial cooperation, promote innovative approaches to safeguarding and developing regional heritage, and contribute to building a China-ASEAN community for digital cultural exchange.
Wang Chunfa, chairman of the China Science Writers Association and former director of the National Museum of China, delivers a speech at the China-ASEAN Dialogue on AI and Cultural Heritage in Nanning, Guangxi, July 3, 2025. [Photo/CICG]
Wang Chunfa, chairman of the China Science Writers Association and former director of the National Museum of China, delivered a speech and called for developing innovative applications to transform cultural sites, historical relics, and traditional architecture into digital assets. He also proposed launching major joint projects that champion shared human values and encouraging youth exchanges in language, culture, history, and art.
Chatvichai Promadhattavedi, deputy chairperson of the Bangkok Art and Culture Center Foundation Committee, delivers a speech at the China-ASEAN Dialogue on AI and Cultural Heritage in Nanning, Guangxi, July 3, 2025. [Photo/CICG]
Chatvichai Promadhattavedi, deputy chairperson of the Bangkok Art and Culture Center Foundation Committee, underscored the need to align AI applications with human values, ethics, and empathy, to ensure that technological development reflects cultural depth.
At the dialogue, scholars and cultural industry leaders from China and ASEAN countries shared their experiences in using technology to strengthen cultural heritage protection.
Meanwhile, two publishing houses, a research center, and two cultural studios joined the Digital China Creative Art Initiative, which seeks to enhance the value of cultural heritage through digital technologies and innovation.
As a sideline event, an exhibition of winning entries from the 2025 Lancang-Mekong Cooperation International Art & Design Competition ran from July 3 to 6, featuring over 70 poster and AI-generated designs from China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.