New Pandas From China Will Be Sent to the US as "Envoys of Friendship"

Following a nearly four-hour discussion with his American counterpart Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping indicated that China is willing to send new pandas to the US.

During remarks at a dinner with business leaders on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in San Francisco, the leader of the People's Republic of China appeared set to restart its so-called "panda diplomacy" with the United States, which had been endangered by tensions between the two nations.

Pandas as a Friendship Gesture

(Photo : Getty Images/AFP)

Xi described the pandas as "envoys of friendship between the Chinese and American people."

"We are ready to continue our cooperation with the United States on panda conservation, and do our best to meet the wishes of the Californians so as to deepen the friendly ties between our two peoples," he added.

Xi did not provide any information on when or where pandas would be provided, but he did appear to hint that the next pair of pandas would come to California, most likely San Diego.

The announcement comes after the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington returned three giant pandas to China last week: Mei Xiang, Tian Tian, and their cub, Xiao Qi Ji.

The Chinese president also mentioned that he learned that many Americans, especially children, were reluctant to bid farewell to the pandas.

The National Zoo got its first pandas from China in 1972, Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling, in an effort to save the species through breeding. Since then, the zoo has had pandas, until the trio recently returned.

US Welcome The Panda

The White House stated that any giant pandas sent by China would be welcomed back.

"We respect the sovereign decision that China made to remove some of the pandas... And certainly should a decision be made by the PRC (People's Republic of China) to restore some of the pandas to the United States, we would absolutely welcome them back," White House spokesman John Kirby said at a briefing.

The bears have long been a symbol of US-China relations, having been given to the zoo by Beijing in 1972. Beijing then loaned the pandas to other US zoos, and the proceeds went back to conservation efforts.

When bilateral relations began to deteriorate in recent years, Chinese citizens began to demand the return of gigantic pandas.

Unproven reports that zoos in the United States abused pandas, considered China's "national treasure," filled Chinese social media.

The National Zoo's exchange arrangement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association was slated to expire in early December, and talks to renew or extend the agreement failed.

The San Diego Zoo reintroduced pandas in 2019, and the last bear at the Memphis Zoo left earlier this year.

Only four giant pandas remain in the United States, and they are all housed at the Atlanta Zoo, which is home to Lun Lun and Yang Yang, as well as their kids, Ya Lun and Xi Lun.

According to China's current deal with the zoo, the younger cubs will return toward the end of 2024, and their parents are likely to return as well.