Return after five years: China sends two pandas to the US zoo – News
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China sends two pandas to the San Diego Zoo again. The American zoo returned the last animals to Beijing back in 2019, after the end of the loan agreement.
A spokesperson for the San Diego Zoo’s Wildlife Alliance confirmed to CNN that the zoo will be accepting two pandas. The official date of their arrival has not been announced, but the zoo is “optimistic to receive a panda in the near future.”
The news comes just months after Chinese leader Xi Jinping suggested that China might send new pandas to the US, including the San Diego Zoo, as “ambassadors of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples.”
“We are ready to continue our cooperation with the United States on panda conservation and will do everything possible to meet the wishes of Californians and deepen the friendly ties between our peoples– said Xi Jinping at the time.
At the end of 2023, China “recalled” its animals from the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington (USA) after more than 50 years of their stay there.
China lends pandas to more than 20 countries as part of a program often called “panda diplomacy.”
Over the past decade, Xi Jinping has approved new panda loans across Europe, including Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Finland. In 2022, China sent a pair of pandas to Qatar for the first time.
China admits that these cute creatures are used for its “great political and diplomatic needs”, especially in countries where it hopes to gain more influence or closer relations.
“Ensuring the health and safety of giant pandas living abroad is the most important basis for international cooperation“, said the head of the Chinese Wildlife Conservation Association.
Beijing’s diplomacy with Washington began in 1972, but in recent years their relations have deteriorated. Xi Jinping’s statement about “friendly ties” was seen as a gesture aimed at easing the strained relations between the two states.
It will be recalled that in South Korea, a giant panda gave birth to two twin cubs for the first time.
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