Voice of America (VOA) Chinese Edition recently reported that the trade war between China and the United States is introducing not only the worry about the future of the world economy, but also the concern for the future of the pandas in the U.S. According to the rental agreements between a number of U.S. zoos and China, upon the expiration of the contracts, unless the contracts are renewed, the pandas have to be returned to China. The agreements also indicate that the U.S. born baby pandas are also property of China. The San Diego Zoo failed to obtain a renewal of their contract. Currently there are only three zoos left in the United States that still have pandas: The National Zoo in DC, the Atlanta Zoo, and the Memphis Zoo. In the past decades, the Chinese government has used pandas as a foreign relationship tool. Sometimes they are leased and sometimes they are given as gifts.
Source: VOA Chinese, August 30, 2019
https://www.voacantonese.com/a/people-worried-china-could-recall-giant-pandas-from-us-because-of-trade-war-20190830/5063011.html