Pandas have been considered a classic animal in the United States for the last 50 years. The emergence of pandas in zoos came as a direct result of Cold War-era diplomacy during the Nixon administration. In 1972, Nixon was given two pandas by Mao Zedong, the chairman of the Chinese Communist Party. The breakthrough diplomatic meeting between the two countries during the Cold War marked the beginning of more cooperative efforts to keep the peace between the two countries despite their political differences.
Among the many lasting results of the meeting was the American participation in the leasing of Chinese-owned pandas. All pandas in the United States are legally owned by The People’s Republic of China, even if born on American soil. In order to retain the pandas, American zoos are expected to pay upwards of one million dollars per panda every year of their existing lease.
The Smithsonian National Zoo’s lease on their pandas began as an initial 10 year plan that went into effect in 2000, but was extended through the end of 2023.Currently, The National Zoo hosts three giant pandas and the lease is set to expire without further extension. Upon the expiration of this lease, the three giant pandas at the National Zoo will be surrendered back to the China Wildlife Conservation Association after boarding a transcontinental flight to China in mid-November, a deadline that was shifted from the start of December of 2023.
Pandas in other United States zoos have already begun to leave for China after lease expiration. The Memphis Zoo has already given up its lone panda to China earlier this year and the San Diego Zoo returned their pandas in 2019. After the Smithsonian National Zoo returned their pandas in November, the Atlanta Zoo will be the only location in the United States to harbor panda bears, whose contract is set to expire in 2024.
Many speculate that the recent decline of “panda diplomacy” between the United States and China correlates with the heightened tensions over recent diplomatic developments that may have caused cooperation between the two nations to falter. A number of different examples could be factors to a potential strain between the two nations. Recent US-imposed sanctions on China, domestically smuggled Chinese-made fentanyl allegations, the “TikTok ” controversy, and the 2023 Chinese Balloon Incident may all contribute to a hesitance to extend the leases for giant pandas in American zoos.
Although it is possible for a potential extension of Atlanta Zoo’s panda lease, chances appear to be slim given the climate of foreign-policy today as well as the trends in other zoos.