Following his highly anticipated meeting with President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping suggested Wednesday his country would send the United States more pandas, calling them “envoys of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples,” according to The Associated Press (AP).
Biden and Xi met face-to-face for the first time since November 2022 at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, discussing several points of contention, including the production of fentanyl and military-to-military communication. China reclaimed three giant pandas earlier in November, though Xi signaled the country would send another set of pandas, likely to California, according to The AP.
“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,” Xi said during a Wednesday speech, The AP reported.
The Panda Express takes off as it transports Giant Pandas from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, on November 8, 2023. All three of the zoo’s pandas are leaving for China, bringing at least a temporary end to a decades-old connection between the cuddly animal and the US capital. (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Xi’s gesture indicates Biden had some success during his meeting with the foreign leader as tensions between the two countries continue to rise. The panda bears were previously viewed as a symbol of friendship between the two countries after Beijing gave them to the United States in 1972, The AP reported.
China has a “panda diplomacy” program where it loans pandas to more than 20 countries as a sign of friendship, CNN reported. In the last decade, China has provided Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland and Qatar with a pair of pandas, though the country has not given the United States pandas in twenty years.
“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 Wednesday, according to The AP. Xi added the San Diego Zoo said they “very much look forward to welcoming pandas back.”
Biden announced Wednesday other accomplishments following his meeting with Xi, including an agreement to halt the production of illicit fentanyl and to begin resuming military-to-military communications. (RELATED: San Francisco Finally Cleans Up Streets, Erects Security Walls For Biden’s Visit With Xi)
“I welcome the positive steps we’ve taken today, and it’s important for the world to see that we’re implementing the approach in the best traditions of American Diplomacy. We’re talking to our competitors, and just talking, just being blunt with one another, so there’s no misunderstanding, is a key element to maintaining global stability and delivering for the American People,” Biden said during a Wednesday press conference.