- New York Jets fire head coach Saleh: team
- Australia crush New Zealand in Women's T20 World Cup
- US states accuse TikTok of harming young users
- 'Evacuate now, now, now': Florida braces for next hurricane
- US Supreme Court skeptical of challenge to 'ghost guns' regulation
- Sparks fly as Orban berates EU 'elites' in parliament trip
- US finalizes rule to remove lead pipes within a decade
- Solanke hungry for second England cap after seven-year wait
- Gilded canopy restored at Vatican basilica
- Zverev scrapes through, Djokovic cruises to Shanghai Masters last 16
- Trump secretly sent Covid tests to Putin: Bob Woodward book
- Gauff answers critics: 'It's hard to win all the time'
- Neural networks, machine learning? Nobel-winning AI science explained
- China says raised 'serious concerns' with US over trade curbs
- Boeing delivers 27 MAX jets in September despite strike
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of other sex crimes
- Italy seek Nations League consistency as Germany continue rebuild
- From boom to budgeting as reality bites for Saudi football
- Stock markets diverge as Hong Kong sinks, oil prices fall
- US trade gap narrowest in five months as imports slip
- Stay and 'you are going to die': Florida braces for next hurricane
- England 96-1 after Salman's century lifts Pakistan to 556
- Hollywood star Idris Elba champions African cinema in Ghana
- Djokovic rolls Cobolli to make Shanghai Masters last 16
- Milan's Hernandez receives two-game suspension after referee rant
- Geoffrey Hinton, soft-spoken godfather of AI
- Ex-Barcelona and Spain great Iniesta retires aged 40
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for 'foundational' AI breakthroughs
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China slaps provisional tariffs on EU brandy imports
- Ex-skipper Skelton eyes Wallabies November return
- Spanish great Iniesta leaves indelible legacy after retirement
- Indian Kashmir elects first regional government in a decade
- Hong Kong stocks crash, oil prices retreat on fading China boost
- Man City accuse Premier League of 'misleading' claims after legal case
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for key breakthroughs in AI
- Agha defies England as Pakistan post 515-8 in first Test
- September second-warmest on record: EU climate monitor
- Pastor wanted by US for sex trafficking to run for Philippine senate
- Mozambican writer Mia Couto dreams future leaders set an 'example'
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free soon after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China says to take anti-dumping measures against EU brandy imports
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case cleared in separate sex crimes trial
- Israel expands offensive against Hezbollah in south Lebanon
- China stocks rally fizzles on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Bangladesh's Yunus says no elections before reforms
- England strike twice as Pakistan reach 397-6 at lunch in first Test
- China stocks rally peters out on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Taiwan's Foxconn says building world's largest 'superchip' plant
- Kenya's deputy president faces impeachment vote
RIO | -4.64% | 66.535 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.36% | 24.66 | $ | |
NGG | 0.62% | 65.89 | $ | |
RBGPF | -0.46% | 60.52 | $ | |
RYCEF | 1.29% | 6.97 | $ | |
SCS | -0.38% | 12.901 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.24% | 24.849 | $ | |
BTI | -0.04% | 35.185 | $ | |
BCC | -0.58% | 140.46 | $ | |
BCE | -0.52% | 33.355 | $ | |
GSK | -1.46% | 38.075 | $ | |
RELX | 1.11% | 46.555 | $ | |
VOD | -0.47% | 9.645 | $ | |
JRI | 0% | 13.18 | $ | |
AZN | -0.13% | 76.77 | $ | |
BP | -3.53% | 32.01 | $ |
Panda diplomacy is back: China sending two bears to Washington
Beijing will return giant pandas to Washington's National Zoo by the end of the year, US First Lady Jill Biden and officials said Wednesday in a surprise announcement signaling a new era of panda diplomacy between the two superpowers.
"We are excited for children near and far to once again enjoy the giant pandas' adorable and joyful adventures at our @NationalZoo," the first lady posted on X.
China will send a new pair called Bao Li and Qing Bao under a 10-year breeding and research agreement, the zoo said in a statement, hailing a "historic moment" that demonstrated the benefits of its partnership with Beijing.
"We're thrilled to announce the next chapter of our breeding and conservation partnership begins by welcoming two new bears, including a descendent of our beloved panda family, to Washington, DC," said Brandie Smith of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.
"This historic moment is proof positive our collaboration with Chinese colleagues has made an irrefutable impact."
Amid soaring tensions between Washington and Beijing, only a handful of the iconic black and white bears remain in the United States, with three having left the national zoo in Washington six months ago.
But President Xi Jinping said after meeting President Joe Biden at a summit in California last November that China could send new pandas as "envoys of friendship between the Chinese and American people."
The White House said it would be happy to have more bamboo-chewing bears.
China has been using so-called "panda diplomacy" since 1972, when the first animals were sent to the United States in 1972 as a gift, following then-president Richard Nixon's historic visit to the Communist nation.
Strained relations between the rival superpowers in recent years have led Beijing to call some of the pandas back home.
- 'Treasure' -
All three giant pandas at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington -- Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, who arrived in 2000, and their three-year-old cub Xiao Qi Ji ("Little Miracle" in English) -- flew back on a cargo plane to China in November last year.
The currently last remaining pandas in the United States, at a zoo in the southern city of Atlanta, are due to return to China later this year, although China announced plans in February to send a new pair of giant pandas to the San Diego Zoo.
The two new arrivals are both two years old and were born within a month of each other at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in the southwestern province of Sichuan. Both still live in the province, in separate centers.
Bao Li -- a male whose name means "treasure" and "energetic" -- is something of a scion of a storied Washington family.
His mother was born at the capital's zoo in 2013, while his grandparents lived there from 2000 to 2023, where they served as ambassadors for their species.
Female Qing Bao's name means "green" and "treasure."
The pandas will be quarantined in the panda house for at least 30 days, monitored by a team of keepers, nutritionists and veterinarians.
They will have a few more weeks to settle into their new habitat before a public debut at a date yet to be announced, the zoo said.
"It's a privilege to take part in this next phase of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute's giant panda program and provide the safest and most comfortable transportation for these beloved animals," said Richard W. Smith, president and chief executive officer of Airline and International at FedEx.
P.Mathewson--AMWN