United States returns 64 Chinese artifacts and fossils

The United States has returned 64 pieces of Chinese cultural artifacts and paleontological fossils to China. The items were delivered in two separate batches in Washington, D.C., and New York City.

These objects, which were seized by American law enforcement agencies, include a bodhisattva torso from the Tianlongshan Caves, various statues, terracotta figures, dinosaur skeleton fossils, fish fossils, and dinosaur egg fossils. The return was facilitated through cooperation between China's National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA), Chinese diplomatic missions in the U.S., and American authorities, including Homeland Security Investigations and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

This repatriation is part of an ongoing effort to combat the illegal trafficking of Chinese cultural property, guided by a memorandum of understanding signed between the two nations in 2009 and renewed three times since.