Xi hints China might send new pandas to the U.S.

Chinese President Xi Jinping hinted that Beijing could send new pandas to the United States, days after three beloved pandas who for years lived in the Smithsonian National Zoo were repatriated to China.

In a Wednesday night speech in San Francisco, Xi acknowledged how difficult it has been for Americans to say goodbye to the three pandas - Mei Xiang, 25, Tian Tian, 26, and their 3-year-old son, Xiao Qi Ji.

"I was told that many American people, especially children, were really reluctant to send them off," Xi said. "I also learned that the San Diego Zoo and Californians very much look forward to welcoming pandas back."

Xi was speaking at a gala dinner hosted by the U.S.-China Business Council and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and featuring CEOs of some of America's biggest companies. Xi's remarks about the pandas were first reported by the Associated Press.

The Chinese leader - who met with President Biden for the first time in a year earlier that day - was referring to the San Diego Zoo's decades-old tradition of hosting pandas. In 2019, the zoo sent its last two pandas back to China: Bai Yun, who had lived in San Diego for 23 years, and her then-6-year-old son Xiao Liwu. Gao Gao, Bai Yun's mate, was sent back in 2018.

"Pandas have long been envoys of friendship between the Chinese and the U.S.," Xi said in his Wednesday remarks. "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."

Speaking to reporters in San Francisco, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that, if China decides to restore some of the pandas to the United States, "we would absolutely welcome them back."

"But that's got to be a decision President Xi makes," Kirby said.

San Diego Zoo President Paul A. Baribault, in a statement Thursday, said the zoo is "excited to hear of President Xi's commitment in continuing the giant panda conservation efforts between our two countries, and his attention to the wish of Californians and the San Diego Zoo to see the return of giant pandas."

The Smithsonian National Zoo declined to comment on Xi's remarks.

Panda fans in the United States were left heartbroken earlier this month when pandas Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and Xiao Qi Ji, left the D.C. zoo for China on Nov. 8, making Washington panda-less for the first time in 23 years.

The trio's November departure was the fourth time members of the zoo's giant panda family have departed for China but, before, there had always been giant pandas who stayed behind when the others left.

This year, the giant pandas were escorted out of the zoo in three large shipping crates and boarded a freight plane at Dulles International Airport. The trio's departure followed a wave of goodbyes: a nine-day "Panda Palooza" celebration, final visits by generations of panda fans, and one couple's return to the scene of their 2016 engagement at the zoo's panda house.

The three pandas were among eight that had lived at the zoo since 1972 when, following a visit from President Richard M. Nixon and first lady Pat Nixon to China, Premier Zhou Enlai gave the United States two 18-month-old pandas, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing.

Ling-Ling died suddenly in 1992, and an ailing Hsing-Hsing was euthanized in November 1999. The zoo was then without giant pandas until December 2000 - a gap of just over a year - when Tian Tian and Mei Xiang arrived.

Aside from Xiao Qi Ji, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian produced three surviving cubs. Zoogoers from Washington and around the country have had the chance to experience D.C.'s giant pandas, and 10 presidents have held office since they came to town.

Xi's talk of pandas came on the heels of his face-to-face meeting with Biden in which the leaders agreed to restore communications between the two countries' militaries. The meeting helped lower tensions between the two superpowers, which also agreed to strengthen counternarcotics cooperation in the hopes of lessening the United States' fentanyl crisis.

The two agreements - and Xi’s hint at the possibility of more pandas - are a rare sign of cooperation between the world’s two most powerful countries, which have been at odds over trade, cyber- and maritime security, human rights, and a range of other pressing issues