The United States and China may be at odds these days over Russia’s war in Ukraine, cheap Chinese exports, tensions with Taiwan and human rights issues.
But when it comes to giant pandas, diplomacy is back.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed this week that two giant pandas, Yun Chuan and Xin Bao, would be sent from the China Conservation and Research Center to the San Diego Zoo. The zoo has a long-standing partnership with China in panda conservation research, and a ministry spokesperson said the upcoming exchange would focus on the prevention and treatment of major diseases and habitat protection.
“We believe that as China-US cooperation in this area deepens, it will improve the cooperation and research capacity on endangered wildlife and biodiversity conservation and contribute to wildlife conservation in endangering the friendship between Chinese and Americans,” said spokesman Lin Jian. , saying.
It’s unclear when the new pandas will arrive, but the deal should allay concerns that recent tensions between the United States and China would threaten the beloved tradition of panda diplomacy.
China has been loaning bears to American zoos for more than five decades as a friendly gesture between the two countries. But as the United States returned most of its pandas to China in recent years, many admirers feared the practice might be ending.
In November, two adult pandas, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, and their 3-year-old cub, Xiao Qi Ji, were trucked from the National Zoo in Washington and then flown back to China on a FedEx Boeing 777 called Panda. Express. The San Diego Zoo sent back its last pandas in 2019. Last April, the Memphis Zoo returned its female giant panda, Ya Ya.
Leaders from the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance conservation team recently traveled to China to meet with the pandas. Yun Chuan is a nearly 5-year-old male whose mother was born at the San Diego Zoo in 2007. Xin Bao, a nearly 4-year-old female, was born at Wolong Shenshuping Panda Base in Sichuan province and, according to the conservation alliance, is Known for being a “kind and witty introvert.”
“Our partnership over the decades has served as a powerful example of how, when we work together, we can achieve what was previously thought impossible,” said Dr. Megan Owen, vice president of conservation sciences at San Diego Zoo. Wildlife Alliance. . “We have a shared goal of creating a sustainable future for giant pandas.”
The announcement follows recent efforts by senior Biden administration officials to stabilize the United States’ relationship with China.
In April, Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken made separate trips to China, where they expressed concern about issues such as China’s recent surge in green energy exports and human rights violations in the Xinjiang region.
Experts on the U.S.-China relationship expressed appreciation for the panda symbolism, but noted that many larger issues still require further progress.
Eswar Prasad, former head of the China division of the International Monetary Fund, expressed hope that collaboration on panda conservation could lead to greater cooperation in areas such as climate change.
“A pair of pandas, as cute and fluffy as they are, won’t do much on their own to ease tensions between China and the United States,” said Prasad, who is also a professor at Cornell University. “Still, it is certainly a healthy omen if the two sides can continue to cooperate on issues where they have common goals while keeping them separate from issues where they have deep-rooted conflicts.”
And although China’s pandas have been granted passage to San Diego, flights for American and Chinese travelers remain limited.
“I’m glad that the United States and China can find a way to cooperate or exchange on anything,” said Meg Rithmire, a professor at Harvard Business School who specializes in comparative political economy of development with a focus on China. “I would also like to see more visas and visits for humans.”