Panda diplomacy: China returns two pandas to the US that it had previously ‘recalled’ due to strained relations
Experts believe that this step shows that the countries are making some efforts to improve bilateral relations
China has responded in its own way to the US decision to launch a new phase of the trade war, and instead of retaliatory duties and restrictions, it is returning two giant pandas to the Washington Zoo: Bao Li and Qing Bao.
Last year, China withdrew these last pandas from the US, and Americans were left without the rare bamboo bears because China has a monopoly on them.
On Wednesday, with the participation of First Lady Jill Biden, it was celebrated at the White House that the pandas are returning.
‘It's official! The pandas are coming back to Washington!’ the US president's wife joyfully announced in a video made for the occasion.
China has traditionally sent bears to zoos in friendly countries as an encouragement or thanks. The USSR received a male Pin Pin in 1957 for being the first to recognise Communist China.
The United States has had giant pandas since the normalisation of relations following President Richard Nixon's historic 1972 visit to China.
However, last year, China withdrew the last pandas from zoos in Washington, Memphis, Atlanta, and San Diego, which experts saw as another episode of deteriorating ‘panda diplomacy.’
The Washington Zoo arranged a nine-day farewell festival for the bears Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and their cub Xiao Qi Ji. And now it is going to give a similarly lavish welcome to a pair of young pandas.
Relations between the United States and China have been deteriorating for a long time, and last year they reached their lowest point. After that, the two countries began to build bridges. The starting point was the first meeting between Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco last autumn.
Before that meeting, Americans said that Joe Biden would, among other things, address the issue of pandas returning to America. And now his wife has announced that this will happen by the end of 2024.
Background. Earlier, Mind wrote that US President Joe Biden announced a significant increase in duties on several types of products imported from China, including electric vehicles, computer chips, and medical products.
For its part, China is preparing to impose a 25% duty on car manufacturers from the EU and the US.
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