China is once again deploying its famous ‘panda diplomacy’. The American zoo in Atlanta announced on Friday just before a visit by US President Donald Trump to Beijing that it will receive two giant pandas from China. The animals would be allowed to stay in the zoo for ten years, the China Daily medium reports.
Ann De Nil
Journalist at HLN
Source: Belga
Beijing sees the transfer of giant pandas as a symbolic diplomatic message. The country has been using ‘panda diplomacy’ for decades by sending its pandas around the world to improve diplomatic relations.
Give and take
The pandas are considered a sign of goodwill. But at the same time, Beijing can also use the animals to punish countries. In January, the Chinese withdrew the last two panda bears from that country after rising tensions with Japan.
“Pure financial transaction”
The zoo in Atlanta previously also had pandas, but the agreement with China expired in 2024. Now there is a new deal. It is not known exactly when the male Ping Ping and the female Fu Shuang will arrive in the United States. The couple previously had seven little ones together.
Pandas are an endangered species and there are currently around sixty Chinese specimens in zoos around the world. But animal rights organization Pro Wildlife condemns the practice as a purely financial transaction that does not serve to advance the survival of the species.
Trump’s visit to China is scheduled for mid-May.
