"Bring All the Pandas" Amid US-China Hegemony Struggle... US Faces Becoming 'Panda Zero'

Currently 4 Pandas Remain in the US... Lease Ends Next Year
65 Pandas Leased to 19 Countries

By the end of 2024, there is a possibility that no pandas will remain in the United States.

On the 3rd (local time), the Associated Press reported, "Amid escalating diplomatic tensions between China and Western governments, China is gradually withdrawing pandas from Western zoos as agreements expire."

Giant panda Xiao Qiji at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington D.C., USA.
[Photo by AP·Yonhap News]

Currently, there are seven giant pandas in the United States, three of which are at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, DC. These three will return to China in December when their lease contracts expire. Accordingly, the zoo held a farewell event for the panda family over nine days starting from the 23rd of last month in preparation for their return to China.

Previously, the San Diego Zoo in California returned its pandas to China in 2019, and the Memphis Zoo in Tennessee did so earlier this year.

Zoo officials did not respond to questions about contract renewal discussions, and the AP reported that there are no public signs indicating additional leases.

The remaining four pandas in the U.S. are at the Atlanta Zoo in Georgia. Although their lease contracts also expire at the end of next year, there have been no known discussions about extending the leases so far.

'Panda Diplomacy' Fades After Over 50 Years

Pandas are native to China, and the Chinese government never grants full custody to zoos that lease pandas. China leases pandas to other countries on a 10-year basis (renewable), with an annual lease fee of about 1 million USD (approximately 1.3 billion KRW) per pair. Currently, 65 pandas are leased to 19 countries.
[Photo by AFP·Yonhap News]

Panda diplomacy between the United States and China began in 1972 after U.S. President Richard Nixon’s visit to China, when Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai sent the panda couple Ling Ling and Xing Xing to the U.S. as a symbol of friendly relations between the two countries. Because of this, pandas have long been regarded as a symbol of Sino-American friendship.

However, as the U.S. has designated China as its sole strategic competitor and imposed restrictions on advanced technology exports, relations between the two countries have shifted to a tense and confrontational state.

In this context, Dennis Wilder, a senior researcher at Georgetown University, told the AP that China’s ending of panda leases in other Western countries as well is an example of "punitive panda diplomacy."

He mentioned U.S. sanctions on Chinese semiconductor imports, regulations on Chinese officials, and China’s criticism of fentanyl from China, saying, "As the U.S. and NATO act against China, this may be a signal sent in response."

Meanwhile, pandas are native to China, and the Chinese government never grants full custody to zoos leasing pandas. China leases pandas to other countries in 10-year terms (renewable), with an annual lease fee of about $1 million (approximately 1.3 billion KRW) per pair. Currently, 65 pandas are leased to 19 countries.

Once long considered an endangered species, pandas are no longer at serious risk. In 2021, their status was downgraded from endangered to vulnerable. The National Zoo estimates that about 1,864 pandas live in the wild in China.