China has gifted two pandas to the US, which is a sign of improving relations between the two countries. Recently, leaders of the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance’s conservation team traveled to China to meet the two pandas.
Relations between China and the US have been tense for some time, but amidst all this, China has now extended a hand of friendship towards the country. For the first time in two decades, China has gifted two giant pandas – Yun Chuan and Xin Bao – to the United States. According to Chinese state media, the giant pandas have left China for California. According to the media, both the pandas left for their new home San Diego Zoo on a chartered flight from the Bifengxia base of the China Wildlife Conservation Association (CWCA) on Wednesday night.
The initiative follows an agreement signed between the CWCA and the San Diego Zoo in February. “This is a historic conservation partnership that will help protect these magnificent creatures and their habitat,” San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria tweeted. Gloria said, “They are a kind of symbol for the country. They are accepted as part of China’s cultural and national identity.”
visited China
Recently, leaders of the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance conservation team traveled to China to meet the two pandas. Yun Chuan is a 5-year-old male panda whose mother was born at the San Diego Zoo in 2007. Xin Bao is a 4-year-old female panda who was born at the Wolong Shenshuping Panda Base in Sichuan province.
will strengthen relations
Li Desheng, deputy director of the CCRCGP, told China Xinhua News that Yun Chuan and Xin Bao will strengthen the relationship between China and the United States. Paul Barribault, CEO of the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, said that we have visited the living space of the two pandas and arranged all kinds of food for them so that they feel at home. He also stressed on providing the best possible environment for Yun Chuan and Xin Bao.
What is China’s Panda Diplomacy?
China loans or gifts pandas to more than 20 countries, often known as “panda diplomacy”. Its panda loans to Washington began in 1972. However, the number has declined in recent years as US-China relations have deteriorated. China describes the panda as a “symbol of friendship”. But it charges up to $1 million a year to keep a panda in a zoo.
