Finland returned the pandas to China because it couldn't afford to keep them.

Risto Sivonen, chairman of the private Ahtari Zoo in central Finland, told Reuters on September 24 that the two pandas, Lumi and Pyry, were brought to the country in January 2018, a few months after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the Nordic nation and signed a joint agreement on panda protection.

Finland returned the pandas to China because it couldn't afford to keep them.

According to the agreement, Finland intended to care for the pair of pandas for 15 years. However, caring for the pandas proved too expensive, and the zoo was forced to send them back to China. The two pandas, Lumi and Pyry, will undergo a one-month quarantine period before returning to China.

The panda pair Lumi and Pyry play at Ahtari Zoo (Finland) in February 2018.

According to Risto Sivonen, the zoo has invested $8.92 million to build habitats for the pandas and spends $1.67 million annually on their care, including conservation fees sent to China.

The zoo hoped the pandas would attract tourists to its location in central Finland. However, last year the facility faced mounting debt due to travel restrictions amid the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, rising inflation further increased the costs of caring for the pandas.

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Ahtari Zoo appealed for state funding in 2023, but was rejected by the Finnish government . Mr. Sivonen said the negotiations to return the pandas had lasted three years. Now, China has agreed to proceed with the repatriation of the pandas Lumi and Pyry.

A spokesperson for the Finnish Foreign Ministry said that the return of the panda was a business decision of the zoo, unrelated to the Finnish government, and would not affect relations between the two countries.

The Chinese embassy in Finland said Beijing had made efforts to support the zoo, but ultimately the two sides decided to return the panda after "friendly exchanges".

China has been engaging in "panda diplomacy" since 1972 to strengthen trade relations, consolidate foreign relations, and enhance its international image.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/phan-lan-tra-gau-truc-cho-trung-quoc-vi-khong-nuoi-noi-185240925115400963.htm