Realizing People's Aspirations and Writing New Stories with Giant PandasSpeech by HE Ambassador Xie Feng at the Opening Ceremony of Panda Ridge at San Diego Zoo_Embassy of the People's Republic of China to the United States of America

(San Diego, August 8, 2024)

The Honorable Governor Newsom,

Senator Atkins,

A greater glory,

Mr. President Baribault,

Deputy Secretary-General Si Ping,

Dear guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear friends,

Hello! It is a great pleasure to come to beautiful San Diego, the birthplace of California, to celebrate with you the opening of Panda Ridge at the San Diego Zoo!

Last November, President Xi Jinping announced in San Francisco that China was ready to continue cooperation with the United States..S.We are committed to protecting pandas and doing our best to meet the wishes of Californians to deepen the friendly ties between our two peoples. Since then, many American friends have kept asking me when pandas will return to the United States. Two little panda fans from California have written me several letters, proposing to give grizzly bears to China to get pandas. Today, I am very happy to announce them:After eight months of joint efforts, we finally brought Yun Chuanand Xin Baoin San Diego. Your dream has come true, even without giving us grizzlies!

California and San Diego have a special connection with giant pandas.The San Diego Zoo is the first U.S. institution to cooperate with China on panda conservation.the first character of Yun Chuan's name is a nod to his grandmother Bai Yunthe former zoo superstar, who gave birth to six cubs during her 23 years here. California is known as the Golden State.The first character of Xin Bao's name is composed of three IIn(the character for gold). Her name means a treasure of prosperity and abundance, and we hope she brings you luck.

To accommodate the couple, the zoo designed this fantastic Panda Ridge, taking inspiration from the landscapes in and around the pandas' natural habitats in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi.The team also provided a variety of bamboo and even created a local version of wowotouor panda bread. The two pandas, both from the Alpha generation, quickly settled into their own way. Yun Chuan likes to build himself up, climbing trees and rolling around in the grass every day, while Xin Bao likes to sunbathe. now ready to meet us at their best.On my flight, I passed a young woman with two children cuddling stuffed pandas, who had flown all the way from Washington to see Yun Chuan and Xin Bao today. I believe you all share the same enthusiasm.

The conservation of the giant panda is a success story in global wildlife protection. The logo of the World Wildlife Fund is precisely a panda. Over the past three decades, cooperation between China and the San Diego Zoo has been very successful, helping to increase panda cub survival rates from around 10% to over 90%. by Yun Chuan and Xin BaoAs we celebrate the 45th anniversary of our diplomatic relations, a clear and important message has been sent: China-US cooperation on panda conservation will not cease, our people-to-people exchanges and subnational cooperation will not stop, and once opened, the door of China-US friendship will not close.We hope with thEastnew cycle of cooperationWeThis will further downlist pandas and other rare wildlife around the world from endangered to vulnerable and then ultimately to non-threatened.

Dear friends,

The couple's arrival in San Diego is inseparable from the goodwill of California, the land of the sunand San Diegoa special bond with pandasGovernor Newsom, the first U.S. governor to visit China after the pandemic, has played an important role in stabilizing China-U.S. relations. Mayor Gloria went to Sichuan to greet the pandas, and President Baribault and the zoo team have visited China many times to help bring the pair to the United States safely and smoothly. Many thanks to everyone who cares about and supports the development of China-U.S. relations and our cooperation on panda protection.mEastvation!

In his meeting with Governor Newsom last year, President Xi Jinping stressed that the hope of China-U.S. relations lies in the people, its foundation is in our societies, its future depends on young people, and its vitality comes from exchanges at subnational levels. California not only welcomed the pandas with great warmth, but also set the tone for friendly exchanges and practical cooperation with China.

Today, China is California’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade exceeding US$137 billion last year. China is California’s largest market for foreign visitors. Chinese tourists are expected to spend US$2.17 billion in the state this year, and that figure will return to pre-Covid levels by 2025. California is home to one of the largest Chinese communities in the United States and is a top choice for Chinese students. It has four sister states provinceIn China (namely Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu, Guangdong and Sichuan), our cities and counties have established 57 city-sisterhood partnerships. hopeThe arrival of pandas will give new impetus to trade between China and California, and help stabilize the broader bilateral relationshipAlso.

Dear friends,

The story of our cooperation for panda conservation is Also a very striking example of mutual aid between our two peoples.Even before the establishment of diplomatic relations, China had sent the first pair of pandas to the United States during President Nixon's icebreaking trip, arousing many Americans' keen interest in China. A panda a day keeps away sorrow. The iPanda channel was opened by the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda on September 16. YouTubewhich offers non-stop live streams 24/7, has over 27 million subscribers. I also heard that some American friends go to China every year to visit the pandas that have returned from the United States and proudly call themselves “panda nannies.”

Seeing is believing. China now offers a 72-144 hour visa-free transit policy to citizens of 54 countries, including the United States, which has sparked a surge in travel to China. Many foreign friends have seized the opportunity to experience an open, safe, vibrant and welcoming China. They’ve visited pandas and eaten hot pot in Sichuan, ridden the futuristic subway in the cyberpunk city of Chongqing, tried drone food delivery in Shenzhen and hailed a self-driving taxi in Wuhan. Many marveled in their videos that this was a China they hadn’t expected. A comment under one of the videos read: China is not our enemy. We share the planet and we must learn to do so peacefully as fellow citizens.

China will continue to welcome the world with open arms and implement new measures to facilitate people-to-people exchanges. We warmly welcome Californians and other American friends to visit China and experience with their own eyes how amazing the homeland of pandas is. Believe me, you will fall in love with it just as you fall in love with pandas!

I wish Panda Ridge great success for its opening! And may Yun Chuan and Xin Bao have a wonderful time in the United States!