Xi Jinping suggests that U.S. panda programs could continue

Chinese leader Xi Jinping signaled on Wednesday that Beijing may send the U.S. a new set of giant pandas, an indication that the era of so-called panda diplomacy between the nations may live another day.

Xi's hinting comes just one week after the National Zoo's iconic three pandas returned to China after the loan agreements between the D.C. zoo and China expired. Those pandas had been in the U.S. since 2000, replacing the original two pandas that Chinese leader Mao Zedong gifted the U.S. in the 1970s.

“I was told that many American people, especially children, were really reluctant to say goodbye to the pandas, and went to the zoo to see them off. I also learned that the San Diego Zoo and the Californians very much look forward to welcoming pandas back,” Xi said at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in San Francisco.

“Pandas have long been envoys of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples,” Xi continued. “We are ready to continue our cooperation with the United States on panda conservation, and do our best to meet the wishes of the Californians so as to deepen the friendly ties between our two peoples."

The move comes on the heels of a high-stakes meeting between Xi and President Joe Biden, who claimed the two made progress on their mission of resetting the fractured U.S.-China relationship — though fault lines remain.

China loans pandas to zoos around the world on short-term exhibition and longer-term scientific loans, and has long seen the beloved and emblematic animals as part of its diplomatic strategies. “Panda diplomacy,” as it has been called, has worked as a soft power strategy to improve China’s image and increase goodwill toward Beijing around the world.

But in recent years, China has opted against renewing existing panda loan agreements with American zoos. At their peak, four cities had pandas: Memphis, San Diego, Washington and Atlanta. Now, only the pandas in Atlanta remain, and they too are expected to leave by 2024.

Xi’s remarks are likely to elicit joy from panda admirers, many of whom recently flocked to the Smithsonian National Zoo in the weeks ahead of their departure to celebrate the animal and catch one last glimpse of them. Similar outpourings occurred when pandas left zoos in Memphis and San Diego.