Beijing will supply Australia with another pair of giant pandas later this year, according to Premier Li Qiang.
The premier issued the statement at Adelaide Zoo as he embarked on a four-day trip to the country, ABC in Australia reported. At the Panda Pavilion, Li listened to reports from Chinese and Australian experts on the two countries’ joint research on giant panda conservation and the breeding and care of giant pandas in Australia.
Chinese state media confirmed the information as well, saying Beijing will send a pair of giant pandas to a zoo in southern Australia after the current pandas return to China later this year. Giant pandas Wang Wang and Fu Ni, the only pandas in the southern hemisphere, have been on loan to Adelaide Zoo since November 2009. A deal signed in 2019 to extend their stay for another five years, according to China’s state news agency.
Li said he felt pleased to see that although Wang Wang and Fu Ni are far away from their homeland, they settled down and living a happy life in Australia, receiving good care. Li said in a statement:
They have become envoys of friendship between China and Australia, and a symbol of the profound friendship between the two peoples.
China lends pandas to more than 20 countries as friendship envoys from Beijing. The programme is frequently referred to as “panda diplomacy” and is sometimes compared to a so-called barometer of relations.
The Chinese premier said Beijing has implemented numerous measures to conserve giant pandas over the years and has made remarkable progress, contributing positively to global efforts to protect biodiversity and endangered animals, according to Xinhua. The Chinese government is willing to continue co-operation with Australia in panda protection and research and hopes Canberra will always be a friendly home for giant pandas, he said.
