The refutation comes after South Korean fans take out ad in New York’s Times Square saying the animal has been mistreated in China.

Zoo will pay US$1 million a year to a China wildlife group, with aim of raising US$25 million to ‘secure a future’ for the bears in nation’s capital.

From furry, four-footed gifts to a family that overcame incredible racism, these are the highlights from the SCMP’s overseas correspondents from May 2024.

Planned arrival of rare bears at American capital breathes new life into decades-long conservation partnership amid tense Sino-US ties.

A pair of dogs in China have had their coats artificially coloured to resemble pandas so that a zoo can attract more visitors, sparking accusations of animal cruelty.

Lun Lun and Yang Yang, along with their US-born twins Ya Lun and Xi Lun, are likely to be returned between October and December, though there is no set date.

Caring for giant pandas might seem like a wonderful job, but it is not without its risks, as one keeper discovered when she was ploughed into by two of the creatures recently.

The announcement comes close on the heels of US secretary of state’s meeting with Chinese president.

Announcement comes as US city’s mayor, London Breed, nears the end of a weeklong trip to China and just days before US secretary of state is expected in Beijing.

Staff from Everland zoo near Seoul confirm she’s in ‘stable health’ after check-up. But concerns have been raised on social media over her treatment at the airport.

Team finds genetic mutation in Bace2 gene appears to cause unusual colour variation in China’s most beloved animal, and they say the research could ‘guide scientific breeding’ of the rare bears.

The beloved panda in South Korea’s Everland amusement park will be moved to China’s Sichuan province in April after spending a month in quarantine.

Beijing resumes lending bears to US zoos in a soft-power bid to improve ties with Washington.

Cooperation deal with San Diego Zoo marks China’s latest effort to improve relations with the West.

Speaking at event to mark anniversary of US-China relations, Chinese foreign minister says ‘artificial decoupling and containment’ will ‘backfire’, while noting progress in military communications and anti-narcotics cooperation.

Crowd control measure is second announced within days in bid to protect health and well-being of the vulnerable animals at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.

Le Le, the first panda to be born in Singapore, made his final public appearance at the River Wonders wildlife park before a month-long quarantine ahead of his departure to China.

Tian Tian and Yang Guang arrived at Edinburgh Zoo in December 2011 as part of a 10-year agreement, which was later extended by two years.

‘If we have a bigger [red panda] population at Ocean Park, we can expand our level of deliverables to breeding and research,’ Ocean Park director says.

Gesture by the Chinese leader after talks with President Joe Biden in California raises hopes that more of the beloved bears will soon return to US zoos.

The two nations have distinct diplomatic styles, mirroring their political systems: the US focuses on retail politics while China is scripted and top-down.

Since their birth 97 days ago, the Everland theme park near Seoul has posted videos documenting the pandas’ growth on its YouTube channel.

Inability to adapt to a zoo risks causing pandas physical and behavioural symptoms similar to human jet lag, metabolism issues or seasonal affective disorder.

A halt in panda loans would coincide with an increasingly frosty political relationship between the US and China.