China reintroduces panda diplomacy with plans to send pair to San Diego

The San Diego Zoo announced Thursday it was taking steps to potentially welcome back giant pandas from China.

The China Wildlife Conservation Association has signed a cooperation agreement with the zoo in San Diego, reigniting a years-long gesture of goodwill between the United States and China. The Associated Press noted the Chinese organization also signed a cooperation agreement with a zoo in Madrid and is in discussions with zoos in Washington, D.C., and Vienna to potentially agree to new deals surrounding panda conservation.

San Diego Zoo officials told the AP two giant pandas — one male and one female — were set to come to the California zoo by the end of the summer if all permits and other requirements are approved. This comes about five years after the zoo’s last set of panda bears returned to China.

A spokesperson for the zoo confirmed the AP’s reporting to The Hill. In a press release, the San Diego Zoo said it “took an important step forward in having giant pandas return” by signing the agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association.

“We are humbled by the potential opportunity of continuing our collaborative conservation efforts to secure the future for giant pandas. As such, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is taking important steps to ensure we are prepared for a potential return,” said Megan Owen, vice president of conservation science at the San Diego Zoo.

"This includes sharing our detailed conservation plans with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure alignment for the greater benefit of giant pandas,” Owen said.

This comes after three giant pandas in Washington, D.C’s National Zoo were sent back to China last November as a three-year extension to their stay was set to expire. Giant pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian had been at the National Zoo since 2000 as part of the zoo’s Giant Panda Cooperative Research and Breeding agreement with the China Wildfire Conservation Association.

The U.S. and China have been engaged in so-called “Panda diplomacy” since former President Nixon brokered a deal in 1972. The National Zoo said former first lady Patricia Nixon had “mentioned her fondness for giant pandas” to Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai at a dinner in Beijing. Enlai later gifted the U.S. two giant pandas after Nixon’s visit, according to the National Zoo.

The Associated Press contributed.