China plans to send San Diego Zoo more pandas this year, reintroducing panda diplomacy

By JULIE WATSON
Associated Press

SAN DIEGO (AP) — China is planning to send a new pair of giant pandas to the San Diego Zoo this year, quelling fears after nearly all the iconic bears on loan to U.S. zoos were sent home as bilateral relations began to sour. Megan Owen of the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says the zoo has been working with China and expects to get a pair by summer’s end if the permits are approved. The black-and-white bears have long been a symbol of friendship between U.S. and China, but only four remained in the U.S. after bears in Tennessee and Washington, D.C. left last year. In November, Chinese President Xi Jinping raised hopes that California might get more pandas.