Washington National Zoo to receive two new giant pandas from China by the end of the year

The Washington National Zoo will receive two giant pandas later this year.

The center made the announcement on Wednesday, about half a year after it sent its three pandas back to China. The number of pandas in American zoos has steadily declined after loan agreements expired during diplomatic tensions between the United States and China, which remain high over economic relations, technology, trade, Taiwan and even a spy balloon.

The Institute of Conservation Biology at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo said the two pandas are Bao Li and Qing Bao. Giant pandas are icons in Washington DC, and loved throughout the country and the world.

For more than five decades, the institute has created and maintained one of the world’s largest giant panda conservation programs, helping the animal move from “threatened” to “vulnerable” on the global list of endangered species.

“We are happy to announce that the next chapter of our breeding and conservation partnership begins as we welcome two new bears, including a descendant of our beloved panda family, to Washington, DC,” said Zoo Director Brandie Smith.

“This historic moment is proof positive that our collaboration with Chinese colleagues has had an irrefutable impact. “Through this partnership, we have increased the panda population, advanced our common understanding of how to care for this beloved animal, and learned what it takes to protect wild pandas and preserve their natural habitat,” he added.

Two weeks ago, the Chinese embassy in Washington held an event for a video series about the friendship between the people of China and those of the United States, and Smith gave an emotional speech recounting his experience with giant pandas .

Chinese President Xi Jinping had said during a trip in late 2023 that China was going to send new pandas to the United States. He described them as “friendship envoys between the Chinese and American people.”

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