Global Times: Giant pandas are China’s national treasure as well as envoys and bridges of friendship among people around the world.
China believes the new round of China-US giant panda conservation cooperation will make new contributions to promoting the health and well-being of giant pandas, improving conservation capacity for giant pandas and other endangered species, advancing global biodiversity protection, and enhancing friendship between the Chinese and American peoples, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Friday.
Guo made the remarks when he was asked by a foreign media reporter whether the ministry could confirm the news that a pair of giant pandas will travel to the US for a 10-year giant panda conservation cooperation program, when the pandas would depart, and what it means for China-US relations ahead of a planned China-US head-of-state meeting.
According to the China Wildlife Conservation Association on Friday, the association signed an international cooperation agreement on giant panda conservation research with Zoo Atlanta in the US last year. It said that under the agreement, a pair of giant pandas – Ping Ping, a male, and Fu Shuang, a female – will travel to the US for a 10-year giant panda conservation cooperation program, continuing the more than 20 years of “panda bond” between the peoples of the two countries.
