- Title: China's Xi 'ready to continue cooperation' with U.S. on panda conservation
- Date: 16th November 2023
- Summary: SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 15, 2023)(REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE)(Mandarin with English translation) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA PRESIDENT XI JINPING, SAYING: "Recently, the three pandas at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington have returned to China. I was told that many American people, especially children, were really reluctant to say goodbye to the pandas and went to the zoo to see them off. I also learned that the San Diego Zoo and the Californians very much look forward to welcoming pandas back. 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 friendly ties between our peoples."
- Embargoed: 30th November 2023 17:50
- Keywords: PANDAS PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA PRESIDENT XI JINPING
- Location: SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- City: SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- Country: US
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,North America,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001881316112023RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:The United States would welcome back any giant pandas China decides to send, the White House said on Thursday (November 16) after Chinese President Xi Jinping hinted he might return some of the cuddly-looking black-and-white bears as a friendship gesture.
At a briefing, White House spokesman John Kirby said if China decided to restore some of the pandas to the United States, "we would welcome them back."
Xi noted their departure in a speech to American business leaders in San Francisco Wednesday (November 15) night on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
"I was told that many American people, especially children, were really reluctant to say goodbye to the pandas, and went to the zoo to see them off," Xi said.
He said he also learned that the San Diego Zoo and people in California look forward to welcoming pandas back. Xi mentioned only California, not Washington, when he hinted they might return.
"Pandas have long been envoys of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples," Xi said.
"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."
Washington's National Zoo bid a tearful farewell to its beloved trio of giant pandas last week as the long-serving goodwill ambassadors to the U.S. capital began a journey back to China that was announced earlier this year.
The giant panda is the rarest member of the bear family and among the world's most threatened animals, according to the World Wildlife Fund. The National Zoo bears - Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and their cub Xiao Qi Ji - traveled to a reserve in China’s mountainous Sichuan province, where an estimated 1,800 pandas are still found in the wild, the zoo said.
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