China says giant panda conservation cooperation with Austria, U.S. will boost global biodiversity

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that the new round of China-Austria and China-U.S. giant panda conservation cooperation will promote global biodiversity conservation and friendship between the people of China and the rest of the world.

It has been reported that the China Wildlife Conservation Association announced on Wednesday that it has signed an agreement with Schonbrunn Zoo in Austria to begin a new round of giant panda conservation cooperation.

Meanwhile, Yun Chuan and Xin Bao, a pair of giant pandas, are headed to the San Diego Zoo in the U.S. to begin a new round of China-U.S. cooperation on giant panda conservation.

Responding to a request for further details, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told media at a daily briefing that China's giant panda conservation cooperation programs with the two zoos date back over 20 years. "Both have been fruitful and contributed a lot to giant panda conservation and research and the affinity between our peoples," she said.

Mao said a new pair of giant pandas will be selected from China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda and sent to Austria for a 10-year conservation cooperation project, adding that Yuan Yuan and Yang Yang, the two giant pandas currently in Austria, will return to China later this year.

Yun Chuan and Xin Bao left China on Thursday morning on a chartered flight for the San Diego Zoo, she said, adding that China and the U.S. have made full preparations in line with the requirements and technical standards for giant panda conservation cooperation to ensure their health and safety during the flight.

She said Chinese experts will stay in the U.S. for about three months until the pair end their quarantine period and become accustomed to their new home.

"There will be various ways for the public to learn about what their life will be like," Mao said.

She said China's new round of giant panda conservation cooperation with the two countries will contribute to the health and well-being of giant pandas and the capacity to protect them and other endangered species.