China’s ‘envoys of friendship’ to return to US zoo as Beijing restarts panda diplomacy

China has reached a deal to send new pandas to the United States, following a promise made by Chinese President Xi Jinping last November.

The China Wildlife Conservation Association (CWCA) has reached an agreement with San Diego Zoo in the US and Madrid Zoo in Spain for “a new round of international cooperation on panda conservation” based on previous cooperation and the interest to protect endangered species, according to its official WeChat account.

Similar talks were also under way with the National Zoo in Washington and a zoo in Austria, the CWCA added.

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It also said the US-China agreement includes stepped up efforts to monitor and evaluate the animals’ health, on-site inspections and evaluations, sharing resources and knowledge, expanding ecology awareness and promoting friendship between China and other countries.

The deal came months after a dinner address by Xi to US business leaders in San Francisco in November, in which he called the country’s panda’s “envoys of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples”, adding that Beijing was ready to continue the lending programme with the US.

Zoo Atlanta is the only US facility still hosting pandas, but the programme will expire at the end of this year, with all four pandas expected to be returned to China, the zoo said last year.

Beijing has been lending pandas to the US and other nations for decades as a gesture of friendship that has become known as “panda diplomacy” to soften its image on the global stage and strengthen ties with other countries.

Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong and US president Richard Nixon in China. Photo: Handout

In 1972, Ling Ling and Xing Xing (Hsing Hsing) were sent to the US after the historic meeting between president Richard Nixon and Mao Zedong that paved the way for the normalisation of relations.

The US, Austria, Spain and other countries were the first to cooperate with China on giant panda protection, the CWCA said. The efforts have resulted in 28 cubs being successfully bred.

While the giant pandas remain beloved attractions in zoos around the world, several of the animals in the US have been returned amid rising tensions over the past few years.

San Diego Zoo returned its charges in 2019 and another one departed Memphis last year.

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The last three giant pandas in Washington were flown back to China in November. The trio – Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and their three-year-old cub Xiao Qi Ji – were sent to Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, home to most of the nation’s giant pandas.

On Thursday, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said that since the 1990s, China has carried out giant panda conservation cooperation with 26 institutions in 20 countries, leading to improvements in giant panda conservation research, international cooperation in the protection of endangered animals, and enhancing friendships between China and other countries.

“We look forward to a new round of international giant panda protection cooperation with relevant countries, which will further expand scientific research results on the protection of giant pandas and other endangered species, and promote people-to-people bonds and friendship,” she said.

South China Morning Post