Could pandas return to DC? Here’s what Chinese President Xi said

Could China send more pandas to the US?

Here's some good news for local Panda lovers. Less than a month after we said goodbye, there's reason to believe some of our furry friends could soon be back. FOX 5's Josh Rosenthal is at the National Zoo in Northwest to explain why.

WASHINGTON - About a week after D.C.'s National Zoo bid farewell to their three giant pandas, China signaled that they would send new bears back to the United States.

The encouraging message came during a dinner speech Wednesday in San Francisco, where Chinese President Xi Jinping called the pandas "envoys of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples."

But if and when pandas do come back, would they return to the nation's capital?

Fingers crossed.

FedEx Panda Express leaves for China

The three pandas were moved onto the FedEx Panda Express, a custom-decaled Boeing 777F aircraft, that departed on an approximately 19-hour flight to Chengdu around 1 p.m.

"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," Xi said at the dinner.

No additional details about the pandas were shared. But his words seem to suggest the next pair of pandas will most likely head to California, probably San Diego.

Xi's words came at the end of a day in which he and President Joe Biden held their first face to face meeting in a year and pledged to try to reduce tensions.

Pandas have long been a symbol of U.S.-China friendship since Beijing gifted a pair of bears to the National Zoo in Washington in 1972. Later, Beijing loaned the pandas to other U.S. zoos, with proceeds going back to its panda conservation programs.

D.C.'s three giant pandas, Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and their cub Xiao Qi Ji, departed their enclosure at the National Zoo on November 8 for China. The zoo's exchange agreement with the Chinese government, originally arranged by President Richard Nixon 50 years ago, was set to expire in December. Negotiations to extend the agreement were not able to produce results.

Sad faces at the National Zoo as pandas depart for China

Sad faces at the National Zoo Wednesday as the giant pandas leave for China.

After their departure, only four pandas are left in the United States, in the Atlanta Zoo. The San Diego Zoo returned its pandas in 2019, and the last bear at the Memphis, Tennessee, zoo went home earlier this year.

Many speculated that Beijing was gradually pulling its pandas from Western nations due to deteriorating diplomatic relations with the U.S. and other countries.

"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 in his speech. He added that he learned the San Diego Zoo and people in California "very much look forward to welcoming pandas back."

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Adult female giant panda Mei Xiang enjoys a frozen fruitsicle treat inside a specialized travel crate before departing the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in Washington, D.C. (Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.)

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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