Beijing will return giant pandas to The Washington National Zoo in the United States by the end of the year, US First Lady Jill Biden and officials said on Wednesday in a surprise statement signaling a new era of "panda diplomacy" between the two superpowers, writes UNN with reference to AFP.
Details
"We are thrilled that children from near and far abroad will once again be able to enjoy the magical and joyful Adventures of giant pandas at our National Zoo," the first lady of the United States wrote on X.
China will send a new pair named Bao Li and Qing Bao under a 10-year breeding and research agreement, the zoo said in a statement, marking a "historic moment" that demonstrated the benefits of its partnership with Beijing.
"We are thrilled to announce that the next chapter of our breeding and conservation partnership begins with the arrival of two new Bears, including a descendant of our beloved panda family, in Washington, DC," said Brandy Smith of the Smithsonian National Zoo and the Institute for Conservation Biology.
Pandas will be quarantined in the panda house for at least 30 days under the supervision of a team of spectators, nutritionists and veterinarians.
The zoo said that they will have a few more weeks to get used to the new habitat before the public debut, the date of which has not yet been announced.
Addition
Amid growing tensions between Washington and Beijing, only a handful of black and polar bears remain in the United States, with three of them leaving the National Zoo in Washington six months ago.
But Chinese President Xi Jinping said after meeting with US President Joe Biden at a summit in California last November that China could send new pandas as "messengers of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples.
The White House said it was happy to have more of these bears.
China has been using so-called" panda diplomacy " since 1972, when the first animals were sent to the United States as a gift after then-US President Richard Nixon's historic visit to the communist country.
Strained relations between rival superpowers in recent years have forced Beijing to recall some pandas home.
The last remaining pandas in the United States at the Atlanta zoo are due to return to China later this year, although in February China announced plans to send a new pair of giant pandas to the San Diego Zoo.