China to send giant panda to Belgium, continuing conservation collaboration

File photo of Ran Ran. (Photo: China Wildlife Conservation Association)

Giant panda Ran Ran will be sent to Belgium to join an ongoing conservation and research program, following a supplementary agreement signed by the China Wildlife Conservation Association and Pairi Daiza, Belgium's best-known zoo, in September 2026.

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

The supplementary agreement on cooperation in giant panda conservation and research was reached after friendly consultations between China and Belgium, the release noted.

Under the agreement, China will provide Belgium with a healthy, captive-bred adult female giant panda to continue participating in the bilateral conservation program launched in February 2014.

The arrangement follows the return of female giant panda Hao Hao to China ahead of schedule in late 2025, after she had lived in Belgium for 11 years, according to the association.

The addition of Ran Ran will help sustain the panda bond that has become a symbol of friendship between the two countries, it noted.

The institutions involved are maintaining close communication to finalize arrangements for Ran Ran's care and management and to 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 by the two countries to deepen their cooperation in wildlife conservation.

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

China will continue to uphold the principles of prioritizing conservation and pursuing mutually beneficial cooperation, the release continued. Working with its Belgian partners, it will strengthen the care of giant pandas and related scientific research, safeguard the health and welfare of pandas living overseas, and promote further progress in wildlife conservation cooperation between the two countries.