Panda bond with Belgium gets a boost

Giant panda Ran Ran will travel to Belgium to join an ongoing conservation and research program under a supplementary agreement signed in September by the China Wildlife Conservation Association and Pairi Daiza, Belgium's best-known zoo.

The adult female panda, born on May 31, 2017, is currently under the care of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, according to a media release issued by the association on Monday.

Under the agreement, China will provide Belgium with a healthy, captive-bred adult female giant panda to continue the bilateral conservation program launched in February 2014. The supplementary agreement was reached after friendly consultations between the Chinese and Belgian sides, the release said.

The arrangement follows the early return of female giant panda Hao Hao to China in late 2025, after she had spent 11 years in Belgium. According to an announcement by the research center late last year, Hao Hao, then 16, returned to Sichuan province for medical treatment.

Hao Hao and male panda Xing Hui arrived at Pairi Daiza in February 2015 under a 15-year Sino-Belgian cooperative research program on giant panda conservation.

The partnership has yielded positive results in panda breeding, scientific research and public education, including the birth of three panda cubs, according to the announcement.

Since March 2025, however, Hao Hao has suffered recurring moderate ascites, or an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the abdomen. Although her condition stabilized following consultations and treatment by experts dispatched from the research center to Belgium, she continued to require advanced medical care. After a comprehensive assessment by experts from both sides, she was returned to China for sustained and systematic treatment.

The association said Ran Ran's addition to the program would help sustain the panda bond that has become a symbol of friendship between the peoples of China and Belgium.

The institutions involved are maintaining close communication to finalize arrangements for Ran Ran's care and management and complete preparations for her journey to Belgium.

This year marks the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Belgium. Ran Ran's planned arrival represents an important step toward deepening bilateral cooperation in wildlife conservation, the association said.

Over the years, the two countries have achieved positive results through collaboration in giant panda breeding and husbandry, disease prevention and control, public education and scientific research. The program has also helped strengthen people-to-people ties and contributed to international efforts to conserve biodiversity.

China will continue to prioritize conservation and pursue mutually beneficial cooperation, the release said. Working with its Belgian partners, it will strengthen panda care and related scientific research, safeguard the health and welfare of pandas living overseas, and promote further progress in bilateral wildlife conservation cooperation.

houliqiang@chinadaily.com.cn