The British Museum has come under fire after losing 2,000 items (Image: GETTY )

       Tens of thousands of Chinese social media users have backed calls from the country’s state media to have its artefacts kept in the British Museum returned.

       The hashtag “The British Museum please return Chinese antiquities” topped the search chart of Weibo, the nation’s censored social media, on Monday (August 28), with more than half a billion of views.

       The hashtag was in response to a piece published by Chinese state media outlet Global Times that called for all cultural relics in the British Museum to be returned “free of charge”.

       The British Museum has been under pressure after around 2,000 items were reported “missing, stolen or damaged” two weeks ago, leading to accusations that it was failing to fulfil its duty of care.

       A member of staff was sacked when the news first came out and last week, its director Hartwig Fischer also announced he would step down.

       READ MORE China sparks major war fears as aircraft and vessels sent near Taiwan

       Comments on China’s Weibo called for the return of Chinese artefacts (Image: GETTY )

       One comment stemming from the hashtag read: “Return the objects to their original owner.” It has more than 32,000 reads at the time of writing.

       “Now that the country is rich and the people are strong, it's time to have our treasures back home,” another top comment read.

       The calls follow a piece published by the Global Times that argued that the world-renowned British museum has failed to take good care of “cultural property belonging to other countries”.

       “The huge loopholes in the management and security of cultural objects in the British Museum exposed by this scandal have led to the collapse of a long-standing and widely circulated claim that 'foreign cultural objects are better protected in the British Museum,” the editorial reads.

       Don't miss...

       Superpowers US and China on brink of meltdown – and UK will be next to crash [INSIGHT ]

       China ramps up threat to Taiwan as its military aircraft breach air defence zone [REPORT]

       If China takes Taiwan by force they will dominate the world - Jonathan Saxty [OPINION]

       The British Museum looks after 23,000 Chinese objects, from the Neolithic age (10,000 BC) to the present day.

       It is one of the largest collections of Chinese antiquities in the West.

       The collection includes a large range of precious items such as paintings, prints, jade, bronzes and ceramics.

       One of the most famous is the reproduction of a scroll called “Admonitions of the Instructress to the Court Ladies”, a masterpiece considered a milestone in Chinese art history.

       SUBSCRIBE Invalid email

       We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

       SUBSCRIBE Invalid email

       We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

       SUBSCRIBE Invalid email

       Trending

       Related articles Objects stolen from British Museum made up fewer than percent of collection Police interview man over 'thefts' of 2k priceless artefacts at British Museum British Museum boss quits over thousands of stolen treasures 'Some of 2,000 items stolen' from British Museum have been 'recovered'