"San Diego Zoo Set to Welcome New Giant Pandas from China in Rare Loan Agreement"
China is planning to continue its tradition of panda diplomacy with Western countries by sending giant pandas to the United States and Europe. Agreements have been reached with the San Diego Zoo in California and the Madrid Zoo in Spain for a new round of international giant panda conservation cooperation. Negotiations are also underway with the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and the Schönbrunn Zoo in Vienna, Austria. This move aims to keep alive a tradition of China lending pandas to American zoos as a gesture of friendly diplomacy, despite the return of several pandas to China from the United States in recent years raising questions about the practice ending.