Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a regular press conference that Chinese authorities have already signed agreements with the San Diego Zoo in the United States. According to her, the agreement is focused on a new stage of cooperation in the field of giant panda protection.
A contract has also been signed with the Madrid zoo, and Beijing is negotiating with the Washington and Vienna zoos, she added.
China has long sent these beloved animals to various countries as part of what is known as panda diplomacy, often linked to foreign policy goals.
Tensions between Washington and Beijing have left only a handful of pandas in the United States, three of which left the National Zoo in Washington in November.
The last remaining pandas in the US, currently housed at a zoo in the southern city of Atlanta, are expected to return to China by the end of 2024.
But after a meeting with US President Joe Biden last year, Chinese leader Xi Jinping said his country could send new pandas as “ambassadors of friendship between the Chinese and American people”.
The White House said it would welcome more bamboo-munching bears.
“Giant pandas are China’s national treasure, which is deeply loved by people all over the world,” Mao Ning said on Thursday. – We look forward to a new stage of international cooperation with relevant countries in the field of giant panda protection.”
According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), there are about 1,860 giant pandas left in the wild, and about 600 pandas live in captivity in panda centers, zoos and wildlife parks around the world.
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2024-04-29 01:10:19