Xi Highlights Panda Friendship, Calls For Stronger China-US Ties

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 25 (NNN) -- Two giant pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, are set to arrive at the zoo in Atlanta in the coming days, as China-US ties take centre stage during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the United States (US).

The pandas, which Xi described as “envoys of friendship” between the Chinese and American peoples, were among the points he raised in his remarks at a welcoming ceremony at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Thursday night.

China first sent giant pandas to the US in 1972, when Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing arrived at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington following then-US President Richard Nixon’s historic visit to China.

For Zoo Atlanta, the arrival of Ping Ping and Fu Shuang marks the return of giant pandas after a two-year absence.

The zoo’s previous four pandas — Lun Lun, Yang Yang, Ya Lun and Xi Lun — returned to China in October 2024 after spending 25 years in Atlanta.

In his remarks at the welcoming ceremony at the White House, Xi called on China and the US to strengthen communication, enhance cooperation and coexist peacefully while avoiding conflict and confrontation.

His speech text was made available to Bernama.

Xi said candid, in-depth and sustained dialogue could help the two countries better understand each other, seek common ground while shelving differences and build mutual trust.

“We should coexist in peace. As I have said many times, China and the US, as two major countries, stand to gain from cooperation and will both lose in confrontation,” he said.

He said the two countries did not need to avoid competition, but the competition should be healthy and kept within bounds.

“It should be a race of catching up with one another, not a wrestle in which one either wins or loses,” he added.

He said China and the US must uphold the bottom line of no conflict and no confrontation, while their militaries should maintain regular dialogue and strengthen mechanisms for crisis communication and prevention, adding that “the Thucydides Trap can be overcome”.

On economic cooperation, Xi said the interests of China and the US were deeply intertwined, and there was ample room for cooperation.

He said China welcomed American companies seeking to invest and do business in China, while hoping Chinese companies would be treated fairly in the US.

“Working together, we can lengthen the list of cooperation, and shorten the list of issues,” he said.

On artificial intelligence (AI), Xi said China and the US were both leading nations in the field and had the capability and responsibility to develop and manage AI for good.

He said both sides should ensure that AI development remained under human control and served the well-being of the people.

Xi also said China was willing to strengthen cooperation with the US on counternarcotics and law enforcement, and that the two countries could increase direct flights to facilitate two-way travel and trade.

He said the two countries had stood shoulder to shoulder against fascist aggression during World War II, adding that the Chinese and American peoples had never forgotten that history.

“The hope of the China-US relationship lies in our people, and its future lies with the young,” he said.

Xi announced that China would invite 100,000 young Americans to visit the country for exchanges and study over the next five years.

Xi said the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again could go hand in hand, calling on both countries to meet the expectations of their peoples and work together to build a better world.

Xi is in Washington for a state visit at the invitation of US President Donald Trump.

--NNN