London Breed (left), Mayor of San Francisco and Wu Minglu, Secretary General of China Wildlife Conservation Association, hold up an agreement to lease giant pandas for the San Francisco Zoological Society and Gardens during a signing ceremony in Beijing on April 19, 2024. Photo: VCG

China Wildlife Conservation Association and San Francisco Zoo signed a letter of intent for international panda conservation cooperation on Friday in Beijing, agreeing to maintain close communication, support each other and to ensure that a pair of giant pandas arrive in San Francisco by 2025.

We are pleased to see that the cooperative units on both sides have reached an intention to collaborate on giant panda conservation. The cooperating units will advance various preparatory tasks, aiming for a pair of giant pandas to be settled at the San Francisco Zoo by 2025, Lin Jian, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said during a press conference on Friday. 

Not only is the giant panda a national treasure of China, but it is also loved by people around the world, serving as an ambassador and bridge of friendship. The US is one of the first countries to engage in giant panda conservation collaboration with China, the spokesperson said. 

Since the 1990s, through the joint efforts of Chinese and US scientific researchers, 17 panda cubs have been successfully bred, making a positive contribution to the conservation and breeding of giant pandas. Additionally, both parties have conducted joint research in areas such as wild panda protection, captive breeding, disease prevention and control, and medical treatment, Lin noted. 

Together, they have overcome a series of technical challenges, fostering scientific exchanges and capacity building in the conservation of giant pandas and other endangered wildlife, which has played a significant role in enhancing the overall level of panda conservation, promoting mutual understanding between the peoples of the two countries, and fostering grassroots friendship, the spokesperson said. 

Mayor of San Francisco London Breed, who is currently visiting China, also shared her excitement of the giant panda cooperation on X platform on Friday. 

"The journey to bring them to our city was a collaborative effort requiring months of coordination and advocacy. A special thank you to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration of China, the China Wildlife Conservation Association, our San Francisco API community advocates, and the San Francisco Zoo for making this partnership possible," Breed said. 

During his visit to San Francisco in November 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping said at a welcoming dinner that "pandas have long been envoys of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples."

"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," Xi said. 

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday that this cooperative research will continue to leverage the collective wisdom, resource integration, and knowledge sharing of both sides to further enhance the capability and standards for the protection of endangered species and biodiversity, contributing positively to the friendship between the peoples of the two nations.

Only four giant pandas are currently in the US, all at the zoo in Atlanta, the Washington Post reported on Friday. China in recent years has not renewed loan agreements at zoos in Washington, DC and Memphis, Tennessee, sparking fears it was ending its historic panda diplomacy with Western nations due to geopolitical tensions, according to US media reports. 

Global Times