Janice R. Andrews
Two gigantic pandas from China will soon be housed at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, DC, the zoo announced. Later this year, the two-year-old male panda, named Bao Li, and the two-year-old female, named Qing Bao, are expected to arrive.
First Lady Jill Biden announced the news in a video on Wednesday, referring to the event as a “historic moment.” Despite the ongoing tensions between China and the US, this represents a new chapter in the long-standing legacy of panda diplomacy between the two countries.
The news comes six months after the National Zoo returned a family of three pandas to China. One of the new pandas, Bao Li, is descended from their family. Declaring, “This historic moment is proof positive that our collaboration with Chinese colleagues has made an irrefutable impact,” Zoo Director Brandie Smith emphasized the significance of this event.
The two pandas will be sent to the National Zoo for ten years as part of a recent deal with the China Wildlife Conservation Association (CWSA), which led to the pandas’ arrival. The zoo will provide the CWSA with an annual fee of $1 million (£790,000) in order to fund conservation and research initiatives. China will continue to be the parent country of pandas and their progeny, with any born cubs being returned there by the time they are four years old.
When the pandas are prepared for public viewing, the National Zoo will make an announcement. By the end of this year, they should arrive. For more than 50 years, the Washington, DC zoo has been a major magnet for millions of tourists and online watchers because to its panda cam. After Richard Nixon visited Beijing in 1972, China sent the US the first pair of giant pandas as a sign of cordial diplomatic ties.
Amid tense relations with the West, China recalled four pandas from the US in 2023, including the two from Edinburgh Zoo and the three from the National Zoo. Furthermore, early this year, the San Diego Zoo said that it will also be receiving a pair of pandas, suggesting that China may employ panda diplomacy once more as a means of soft power to mend fences.
