WASHINGTON: Two giant pandas, Bao Li and Qing Bao, arrived in the United States on Tuesday from China, marking the latest chapter in Beijing’s practice of “panda diplomacy.”
The pandas, a male and female, landed at Dulles International Airport in Virginia aboard a FedEx cargo plane, dubbed the “Panda Express,” and were destined for the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
The arrival of the pandas has been eagerly anticipated by both zoo officials and the public. The National Zoo’s website prominently featured the message “The pandas are coming”. Bao Li and Qing Bao, both three years old, will be housed at the zoo under a decade-long breeding and research agreement with China.
The zoo has undertaken extensive renovations to the panda habitat to ensure the safety and well-being of the new arrivals. These updates include shallow pools for bathing and bamboo stands designed to encourage natural foraging behaviors, replicating the pandas’ environment in the wild.
Although the pandas will not be visible to the public immediately, they are expected to be quarantined for over a month to allow them to acclimate to their new surroundings.
The introduction of Bao Li and Qing Bao comes at a time when only a few giant pandas remain in the US, following the return of most pandas to China under pre-arranged contracts in recent years. Last November, the National Zoo bid farewell to its last three pandas.
However, this new arrival of pandas follows a recent pledge by Chinese President Xi Jinping during a summit in California, where he and US President Joe Biden discussed strengthening bilateral ties.
Xi referred to the pandas as “envoys of friendship between the Chinese and American people,” signaling a positive shift in the relationship between the two nations.
In August, the San Diego Zoo also welcomed two new pandas, the first to be sent to the US in 21 years.
