Reuters-US would welcome back any pandas from China White House says
November 16, 2023 2 min 343 words
白宫表示，美国愿意欢迎中国决定送回的任何大熊猫，这是一个友好姿态。这一举动既是对中美友谊的延续，也是对国宝大熊猫的珍视。正如白宫发言人John Kirby所言，尊重中国主权决定，同时表达了对大熊猫离别的感激之情。报道中提到中国主席习近平在亚太经合组织（APEC）论坛期间的讲话中提到了大熊猫的回归，这也是友谊的象征。然而，这也引发了一些讨论，因为习近平只提到了加利福尼亚，而没有提到华盛顿。这或许是一个微妙的信号，需要关注中美友好合作的方向。总体而言，这一消息给人以一种温暖的感觉，大熊猫成为中美友好交流的使者，希望这种友谊能够继续深化。
The United States would welcome back any giant pandas China decides to send, the White House said on Thursday after Chinese President Xi Jinping hinted he might return some of the cuddly-looking black-and-white bears as a friendship gesture.
"He indicated a willingness to think about returning some of them. We obviously appreciated having them here. And we respect the sovereign decision that China made to remove some of the pandas," White House spokesman John Kirby said at a briefing.
"And certainly should a decision be made by the PRC (People's Republic of China) to restore some of the pandas to the United States, we would absolutely welcome them back."
Washington's National Zoo bid a tearful farewell to its beloved trio of giant pandas last week as the long-serving goodwill ambassadors to the U.S. capital began a journey back to China that was announced earlier this year.
Xi noted their departure in a speech to American business leaders in San Francisco Wednesday night on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
"I was told that many American people, especially children, were really reluctant to say goodbye to the pandas, and went to the zoo to see them off," Xi said.
He said he also learned that the San Diego Zoo and people in California look forward to welcoming pandas back.
Xi mentioned only California, not Washington, when he hinted they might return.
"Pandas have long been envoys of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples," Xi said.
"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."
The giant panda is the rarest member of the bear family and among the world's most threatened animals, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
The National Zoo bears - Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and their cub Xiao Qi Ji - traveled to a reserve in China’s mountainous Sichuan province, where an estimated 1,800 pandas are still found in the wild, the zoo said.