The Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as “the parties”), Desiring to further develop and strengthen the cultural exchanges and friendly relations between the two countries, Recalling Article 10 of the Cultural Agreement between the two countries signed in Beijing on May 28, 1988, The Parties have agreed, through mutual consultations, upon the following Programme of Cultural Exchanges, for years 2013-2015.

1.ART AND CULTURE

1.1 The Parties shall encourage performances by their traditional, folk and contemporary music and dance troupes, theatre plays, etc. in each other’s countries. Details of the visits/events shall be decided through consultations in advance through diplomatic channels.

1.2 The Parties shall exchange exhibition of contemporary folk and classical arts on reciprocal basis. The exhibition shall be accompanied by one technical expert / courier each at the time of opening and closing of the exhibition and Curator / Director to attend the opening ceremony of the exhibition.

1.3 The Parties shall exchange performances and experts between National School of Drama and similar theatre institutes in China on reciprocal basis.

1.4 The Parties shall exchange 2-3 persons for 2-3 weeks to study in each of the following fields:

» Study of the artistic heritage;
» Creative activities for students;
» Development of audio-visual and printed educational materials for the student to learn arts, music , dance, theatre and puppetry;
» Museums as ‘Centers of Learning’;
» Documentation of the Arts, Museum objects and Production of Cultural Resources.

1.5 The Parties shall encourage the exchange of experiences, publications and experts in the field of libraries, archives and anthropological studies.

1.6 During the validity period of this Programme, the Parties shall hold comprehensive cultural festivals, in two or three cities of their counterpart countries. Details of the cultural festivals shall be decided through consultations in advance through diplomatic channels.

1.7 The parties shall promote exchanges in the field of Intangible heritage of the two countries. Details of such exchange shall be mutually decided by the related institutions of the two sides through consultations.

1.8 The Parties shall strengthen exchange and cooperation in the field of cultural industry, encourage business exchange and collaboration between cultural enterprises, and facilitate sustainable cooperation in cultural industry between the two countries. Details of such exchange and cooperation shall be mutually decided by the related institutions of the two sides through consultations.

1.9 The Parties shall exchange a 7-day visit of a delegation of 5 writers to the other country. Details of the visits shall be mutually decided through consultations through diplomatic channels in advance.

1.10 The Parties shall identify the anniversaries and occasions connected to eminent cultural figures and organize joint celebrations in an appropriate manner.

1.11 The Parties shall encourage their own scholars and experts to publish their articles and academic papers on publications and magazines of the other country, so that both sides can benefit from the latest achievements of each other in the related fields.

1.12 The Parties shall work on a collaborative project between the IGNCA and the Chinese Academy of Arts for ‘the International Conference on the Jataka Tales Depicted in the Mural Paintings in India and China.’

1.13 The Parties shall exchange 5-7 master craft persons for live demonstration of Handicrafts in different craft disciplines for a period of 8-10 days, under Cultural Exchange Programme, on mutual understanding.

1.14 The Parties shall encourage the cooperation between Chinese Academy of Arts and the National Academy of Fine Art and National Academy of Letters of India on art creation and literature interaction.

1.15 The Parties shall encourage their respective artists to visit each other’s country to create artworks including paintings and paintings from life, and conduct academic exchange through such programs as Exhibitions.

2. CULTURAL HERITAGE

2.1 The Parties shall cooperate in such areas including the management and protection of ancient heritage sites, historical structures, large heritage sites, archaeological site parks, industrial heritages, cultural landscapes and historical and cultural cities, archeological researches, underwater archaeology, cultural relics exhibition exchange, combat against cultural properties trafficking, exchange and training of museum personnel, exchange of technology for the preservation of artifacts and study of cultural heritage resource materials.

2.2 The Parties shall work together to protect the silk Road-related cultural heritage, and the protection and management of world cultural heritage.

2.3 The Parties shall exchange the visits of a 3-5 member delegation of cultural heritage experts for no more than 5 days. Details concerning such visits shall be jointly decided by the two sides through consultations through diplomatic channels in advance.

2.4 Both Parties may support co-operation in the field of protection, conservation and promotion of the cultural heritage of both the countries. The Parties would exchange one expert each in the field of conservation of ancient monuments/archaeological sites, art objects and development of archaeological sites for two weeks.

2.5 The exhibition of excavated artifacts from prehistoric to late medieval period can be arranged at some selected locations by the specialists/curators of Site museums of both the countries.

2.6 The services of Assistant Archaeologists/Curators of site museums can be exchanged for short duration by both the countries to study the administration and the display of objects in the light of latest technology used in modern days.

2.7 The Parties shall encourage cooperation between the Palace Museum of China and related institutions of India, in such areas as exchange of experiences on the administration, monitoring and protection of cultural heritage sites, exchange and cooperation related to exhibitions, and the promotion of collaboration between universities and research institutions in museology and other fields, especially cooperation with the Kerala Council for Historical Research of India in the field of archeology.

3. YOUTH AFFAIRS, EDUCATION & SPORTS

3.1 The Parties shall exchange the visits of delegations of around a hundred youths. Details concerning such visits shall be decided by the related institutions from both sides through consultations.

3.2 The Parties shall encourage the organization of bilateral youth forums supported by universities in each other’s country on a regular basis. Details concerning such forums shall be mutually decided by the related institutions and universities of the two sides through consultations.

3.3 The Parties shall encourage and support sport exchange and cooperation. Details of such cooperation shall be decided by the institutions from the two sides through consultation

4. MEDIA, PUBLICATIONS AND MASS COMMUNICATION

4.1 The Parties shall encourage their respective Radio and TV station to exchange cultural and news programs to enhance the mutual understanding between the people of the two countries. These shall be based on mutual consultations between the respective organizations on both sides. Details of such cooperation shall be decided by the institutions from the two sides through consultations.

4.2 The Parties agree to exchange short-term visits of media delegations to the other country. Details concerning such visits shall be mutually decided by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of India and the State Council Information Office (SCIO) of China through mutual consultations.

4.3 The Parties shall encourage exchange and cooperation in the field of news and publications during the validity of this Programme, and shall exchange a publishing delegation of up to 3-5 persons for no more than 5 days. The Parties shall also encourage the introduction, translation and publication of the outstanding literary works of the other country using their own language by providing appropriate support. The Parties shall encourage its publishing institutions to participate in international books fairs held in the other country. Details concerning the exchange shall be mutually decided by the two sides through consultations through diplomatic channels in advance.

4.4 The Parties shall exchange film weeks in 2 to 3 cities in each other’s country and the visits of film delegations. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of India and the State Administrations of Press, Publications, Radio, Film & TV of China shall work out the details through mutual consultations.

5. MISCELLANEOUS

5.1 Additional proposals not included in this Programme shall be worked out by the two sides through mutual consultations.

5.2 The General and Financial Provisions in the Annexure is an integral part of this Programme.

5.3 The Programme shall come into force on the date of signing. It shall be effective until 31 December, 2015, or, if decided by the two sides through consultations, extended automatically from then on for further periods.

Done in duplicate in Beijing on 23 October 2013 in the Hindi, English and Chinese languages, all texts being equally authentic. In case of divergence in interpretation, the English text shall prevail.

ANNEXURE GENERAL PROVISIONS AND FINANCIAL PROVISIONS

I. EXCHANGE OF DELEGATIONS AND TROUPES

1. Each party shall send to the other party the bio profiles (including working languages) and proposed itineraries of the visiting delegations, individuals or performing troupes under the framework of this Programme, at least three months ahead of the expected date of their visits.

2. The Receiving Party shall forward the reply to the above-mentioned proposals within 1 month after receiving them.

3. Upon the positive confirmation of the Receiving Party, the Sending Party shall inform the Receiving Party at least 4 weeks in advance of the exact time and port of arrival of the visitors.

4. The invited visitors should speak either the language of the Receiving Party or English.

5. Both Parties shall provide convenience for the visitors to understand the Culture and lifestyle of the host country.

6. Both parties shall provide free medical care in case of sudden illness. (Details of financial arrangement shall be discussed as per the circumstances)

II. EXCHANGE OF MATERIALS

Each party has the right to use the materials exchanged in their own news, radio and TV programmes, and shall not grant the use of the said materials by a third party. The Sending Party shall be responsible for dealing with the intellectual property rights of the authors and artists as well as bearing the transportation expenses.

III. EXECHANGE OF PERFORMING TROUPES

1. The Parties shall inform each other about the proposals concerning the exchange of performing troupes through diplomatic channels at least 9 months in advance. The Receiving Party shall forward its reply within 2 months after having received the proposals.

2. The Sending Party shall cover the expenses of the travel and transportation of the visiting troupes and their props to the entry port in the Receiving Country and back

3. The Sending Party will provide the information including introductions, programs, previous news reports and dates of arrival and departure of the visiting Troupe at least 4 months in advance.

4. For visits no longer than 1 month, the Receiving Party shall provide free local transport, accommodation and allowance in according with the nature of the troupes (Detailed financial arrangements shall be discussed as per the circumstances).

5. For visits longer than 1 month, the Parties shall agree upon the financial arrangements concerning specific programs.

6. Amendments concerning the above-mentioned provisions shall be decided by the related institution through consultations in advance.

IV. EXCHANGE EXHIBITIONS

1. The sending party shall cover the international transportation expenses of the exhibits from home to the first destination and from the last destination in the Receiving Country back home.
2. The receiving party shall cover the local transportation expenses of exhibits in the country.
3. The receiving party shall cover the expenses of the installation and publicity of the exhibition, including marking catalogues and brochures.
4. The sending party shall cover of the insurance expenses of the exhibition while it is away from the home country. In case of item loss or damages, the Receiving Party shall be obliged to provide all the necessary documents for the Sending Party to claim compensation from the insurance companies. The costs concerning the acquisition of the said documents shall be covered by the Receiving Party.
5. The Receiving Party shall attach adequate importance to and take care of the exhibits.
6. If the exhibition travels to a third country, the related transportation expenses shall not exceed that of the exhibition traveling home.
7. Separate agreements can be signed between the host institutions and receiving institutions if necessary.
8. If possible, the Sending Party shall provide all the necessary materials and information including space requirements and brochure making to the Receiving Party 3 months in advance. The exhibits should be sending out at least 6 months before the opening of the exhibitions.
9. If considered necessary, the Sending Party shall send 1 or more artists or officials along with the exhibition, who shall be taken care of by the Receiving Party.