China publishes 60-volume catalog of 23,000 bronzes held abroad, asserting cultural sovereignty

A Peking University project, published in April, catalogs over 23,000 Chinese bronze artifacts held in nearly 30 countries, marking a systematic effort to document and assert claims over cultural heritage dispersed abroad. The initiative reflects China's ongoing cultural diplomacy and repatriation agenda, though it does not yet signal formal restitution demands. The move is part of a broader pattern of China using cultural heritage as a soft-power tool, with potential implications for international museum relations.