Panda Diplomacy: San Francisco To Receive Two Pairs Of Panda In 2025 From China

(Photo : Getty Images/GUILLAUME SOUVANT)

San Francisco is the latest city poised to welcome pandas from China, as part of Beijing's renowned "panda diplomacy."

Pandas In San Francisco

After a months-long effort culminating in Mayor London Breed's travel to China, the San Francisco Zoo is set to acquire its first giant pandas in decades.

Breed stated that this will be San Francisco's first long-term hosting of the adored animals, the product of a yearlong advocacy campaign.

San Diego already announced that it would receive two pandas in February.

"San Francisco is absolutely thrilled to be welcoming giant pandas to the San Francisco Zoo," Breed said after signing a letter of intent for international cooperation on giant panda conservation.

No timetable was provided for the pandas' arrival.

The release stated that it was dependent on the completion of the zoo's animal enclosure. The quantity of pandas was not specified, though pandas are frequently supplied in pairs.

CWCA Secretary General Wu Minglu stated that the organization will collaborate with San Francisco officials to prepare for the pandas' arrival and assure the technical criteria for their conservation.

"We look forward to a pair of giant pandas being in San Francisco in 2025," he added.

Panda Diplomacy

Giant pandas are a valuable addition to any American zoo due to their widespread popularity.

The bears have long acted as diplomatic emissaries between the United States and China, with "panda diplomacy" spanning generations at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C. However, obtaining them is a rare and expensive chance, usually requiring a $1 million lease agreement with China.

"The giant panda symbolizes hope for conservation collaboration and bridges divides between cultural differences," zoo CEO and Executive Director Tanya Peterson said in a statement.

China is home to pandas' only natural habitat and owns the majority of the world's black-and-white bear population. Beijing lends the animals to other countries to promote diplomacy and wildlife protection.

The idea of sending pandas to San Francisco originally surfaced during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in November, when Chinese President Xi Jinping hinted in a speech that they might make an appearance in California.

Breed wrote to Xi in December, imploring him to send pandas heading for California to San Francisco. In February, it was announced that the San Diego Zoo, which had already had pandas for decades, would be adding a pair. But Breed refused to give up, announcing that part of her trip to China this week was to continue panda advocacy. It appears to have paid off.

There are now just four giant pandas in the United States, all of which are at the Atlanta Zoo.

China has not renewed loan agreements with zoos in Washington, D.C., and Memphis, Tennessee, raising concerns that its historic panda diplomacy with Western nations is coming to an end owing to geopolitical challenges.

In recent months, Washington and Beijing have increased diplomatic exchanges in an effort to defuse increasing tensions. However, tensions exist over trade, national security, and the countries' differing positions on crises such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war.