纽约时报中文网 - 中英对照版-中英美国动物园将再次迎来中国大熊猫

Giant pandas from China could be arriving in the United States again soon, as Beijing is planning to continue its panda diplomacy with Western countries, according to a statement from the Chinese Embassy in the United States.

根据中国驻美国大使馆的声明，随着北京计划继续与西方国家的熊猫外交，中国的大熊猫可能很快会再次抵达美国。

The China Wildlife Conservation Association reached agreements with the San Diego Zoo in California and the Madrid Zoo in Spain “on a new round of international giant panda conservation cooperation,” according to the statement.

声明称，中国野生动物保护协会与加州圣地亚哥动物园和西班牙马德里动物园就“新一轮大熊猫国际保护合作事宜”达成协议。

The agreement would keep alive a more than five-decade old tradition of China lending pandas to American zoos in a gesture of friendly diplomacy between the two countries. The return of several pandas to China from the United States over the last several years had raised questions about whether the practice was ending.

这项协议将延续50多年来中国向美国动物园出借大熊猫的传统，作为两国友好外交的一种姿态。过去几年中，有几只大熊猫从美国返回中国，令人们怀疑这样的出借即将结束。

China is also negotiating with the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and the Schönbrunn Zoo in Vienna, Austria, according to the embassy’s statement.

根据大使馆的声明，中国还在与华盛顿的国家动物园和奥地利维也纳的美泉宫动物园进行谈判。

“It’s always been our intention and hope to have giant pandas at the Zoo in the future and continue our research here and conservation work in China,” Dr. Brandie Smith, the director of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, said in a statement. She added that the National Zoo was in discussion with the China Wildlife Conservation Association “to develop a future giant panda program.”

史密森尼国家动物园和保护生物学研究所所长布兰迪·史密斯博士在声明中说，“我们一直打算和希望未来能在本动物园饲养大熊猫，并继续在这里开展研究，在中国开展保护工作。”她还说，国家动物园正在与中国野生动物保护协会讨论“制定未来的大熊猫项目”。

Dr. Megan Owen, the vice president of conservation science at the San Diego Zoo, said in a statement that the zoo was “taking important steps to ensure we are prepared for a potential return.”

圣地亚哥动物园负责保护科学的副主席梅根·欧文博士在声明中说，动物园正在“采取重要措施，确保我们为可能的回归做好准备”。

The new round of what the Chinese Embassy called “cooperative research” will focus on controlling and preventing disease among giant pandas and more, according to the announcement.

根据公告，中国大使馆所称的新一轮“合作事宜”将侧重于大熊猫的疾病控制和预防等问题。

The San Diego Zoo sent its last pandas back to China in 2019. And last April, the Memphis Zoo returned its female giant panda, Ya Ya. Animal welfare activists were alarmed by videos and photos of Ya Ya at the time, in which she had mangy fur and looked somewhat thin. Animal rights groups had campaigned for her release and had blamed the zoo for the death of Ya Ya’s mate, Le Le. The Memphis Zoo and Chinese officials denied any mistreatment.

圣地亚哥动物园于2019年将最后一只熊猫送回了中国。去年4月，孟菲斯动物园将雌性大熊猫丫丫送回中国。动物福利活动人士当时对丫丫的视频和照片感到震惊，其中丫丫毛发蓬乱，看起来有点消瘦。动物权利组织一直呼吁送还丫丫，并指责动物园对丫丫的伴侣乐乐的死亡负有责任。孟菲斯动物园和中国官员否认存在任何虐待行为。

Then, last November, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington sent its two aging adult pandas, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, and their cub, Xiao Qi Ji, back to China on a 19-hour FedEx flight, the Panda Express.

去年11月，位于华盛顿的史密森尼国家动物园将两只年迈的成年大熊猫美香和添添，以及它们的幼崽小奇迹，通过联邦快递19个小时的“联邦熊猫快递号”送回了中国。

That move spurred speculation that rising tensions between the American and Chinese governments were the reason behind the return of the pandas in Washington, but National Zoo officials and scientists said each of the three pandas was at an age when they should be returning to China.

此举引发了人们的猜测，认为中美两国政府之间日益紧张的关系是华盛顿的大熊猫被送回的原因，但国家动物园的官员和科学家表示，这三只大熊猫都到了应该返回中国的年龄。

The departure of the pandas made Atlanta the sole place in the United States where giant pandas (two adults and two babies) could be observed, although those bears were supposed to return to China sometime this year.

大熊猫的离开使得亚特兰大成为美国唯一可以看到大熊猫的地方（包括两只成年大熊猫和两只幼年大熊猫），然而这些大熊猫也会在今年的某个时候返回中国。

Panda diplomacy between the United States and China dates to the 1970s. It began after President Nixon made a landmark visit to China in 1972, normalizing relations between the two countries. Within two months, China had sent a female and male panda to the National Zoo. Those original pandas, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, lived together at the zoo, producing five cubs, none of whom survived.

中美之间的熊猫外交可以追溯到上世纪70年代。1972年，尼克松总统对中国进行了具有里程碑意义的访问，使两国关系正常化。在两个月内，中国向国家动物园送去了一只雌性和一只雄性熊猫。这两只大熊猫玲玲和兴兴一起生活在动物园里，生下了五只幼崽，但没有一只存活下来。

Zoos receiving pandas from China pay an annual fee to keep the animals, and generally do so for at least a few years. The zoos that have hosted the pandas in the United States over the decades negotiate their own contracts with conservation groups in China.

从中国接收大熊猫的动物园每年都要支付饲养费用，而且通常至少要维持几年。几十年来，在美国饲养大熊猫的动物园一直与中国的保护组织分别谈判合同。

While the furry diplomats chew their bamboo, unaware of their geopolitical significance, critics have said that panda diplomacy has been used by China to soften its authoritarian image and divert attention away from its record of human rights abuses.

这些毛茸茸的外交官们嚼着竹子，对自己的地缘政治意义一无所知，然而批评人士说，熊猫外交被中国用来软化其威权形象，转移人们对其侵犯人权记录的关注。

China’s leader, Xi Jinping, hinted in a speech last fall that more giant pandas could be coming to American zoos. “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,” Mr. Xi said at the time.

中国领导人习近平在去年秋天的讲话中暗示，可能会有更多的大熊猫来到美国动物园。“我们愿继续同美国开展大熊猫保护合作，努力满足加州人民的愿望，增进两国人民友好感情，”习近平当时说。

There are just over 1,860 pandas in the wild, according to the World Wildlife Fund, as the species remains vulnerable after being on the edge of extinction in the 1990s. They mostly live in temperate forests in the mountains of southwest China, where they subsist on bamboo, of which they need between 26 and 84 pounds a day.

这个物种在20世纪90年代一度濒临灭绝，至今仍属易危，根据世界自然基金会的数据，目前野生大熊猫数量将将超过1860只。它们大多生活在中国西南部山区的温带森林中，以竹子为食，每天需要进食大约12至38公斤。