WASHINGTON: China will ship two younger large pandas to Washington, the Nationwide Zoo stated on Wednesday (Might 29), months after the zoo returned three of the bears amid heightened tensions between the 2 international superpowers.
The announcement follows elevated engagement between Washington and Beijing that has put ties on a steadier footing since relations hit historic lows final 12 months.
The Smithsonian’s Nationwide Zoo stated in a press release that it’s going to welcome pandas named Bao Li and Qing Bao to the zoo in Washington by the tip of the 12 months.
“We’re thrilled to announce the following chapter of our breeding and conservation partnership begins by welcoming two new bears, together with a descendent of our beloved panda household, to Washington, DC,” stated Brandie Smith, director of the Smithsonian’s Nationwide Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.
“This historic second is proof constructive our collaboration with Chinese language colleagues has made an irrefutable influence,” Smith added.
The departure of the three pandas from the zoo final November as mortgage agreements lapsed left Georgia’s Zoo Atlanta as the one one in the USA with large pandas, and that mortgage deal is ready to run out later this 12 months.
Chinese language President Xi Jinping hinted that he was open to sending extra of the “envoys of friendship” to the US after assembly President Joe Biden in November in California, the place the 2 males agreed to step up communication regardless of an intensifying geopolitical rivalry.
Xi’s remarks prompted the White Home to say the US would “completely welcome” the bears.
