STORY: Arrival of new pandas warmly welcomed in Australia
SHOOTING TIME: Dec. 15, 2024
DATELINE: Dec. 16, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:07
LOCATION: ADELAIDE, Australia
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the pandas arriving at the Adelaide airport and Adelaide Zoo
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): LI DONG, Chinese consul-general in Adelaide
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): ZOE BETTISON, South Australia's State Tourism Minister
4. various of the Adelaide Zoo

STORYLINE:

Australian officials have welcomed South Australia's new pair of giant pandas, describing their arrival as evidence of the country's strengthening relationship with China.
   
Four-year-old male Xing Qiu and three-year-old female Yi Lan arrived in Adelaide, capital of South Australia (SA), on a flight from China's Sichuan Province on Sunday morning local time, becoming the only giant pandas in the Southern Hemisphere.
   
The pandas will spend the next 10 years at Adelaide Zoo, replacing the previous pair Wang Wang and Fu Ni -- who returned to China in November after 15 years in Australia.
   
Hailing the arrival of Xing Qiu and Yi Lan, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, an Adelaide local, said the pandas would bring joy to tourists from across Australia and overseas and provide a boost for SA's tourism sector.
   
The two pandas will spend one month in quarantine before being moved into the Adelaide Zoo's Bamboo Forest enclosure, which has been upgraded in anticipation of their arrival.
   
"I am looking forward to welcoming Xing Qiu and Yi Lan to Adelaide, and visiting the Adelaide Zoo with my daughters early next year, once the pandas are out of quarantine," said the Australian foreign minister in a joint media release with the Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell, Deputy SA Premier Susan Close and state Tourism Minister Zoe Bettison.

"I know families have enjoyed coming to see the pandas at Adelaide Zoo just like my family has," said Farrell in the media release. He hoped to see a spike in visitors coming to see "such majestic creatures" up close.
   
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Australia, which has a very special significance, Li Dong, Chinese consul-general in Adelaide, said at the press conference welcoming the giant pandas on Sunday.
   
The Chinese diplomat said the new round of giant panda cooperation will last for 10 years, during which he looked forward to a better prospect for cooperation in various fields between China and Australia.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): LI DONG, Chinese consul-general in Adelaide
"We had just seen Wang Wang and Fu Ni, the pair of pandas going back to China, but now we are welcoming a new pair. This is a very significant thing because they are representing China." 

The arrival of the pandas came days after China Southern Airlines returned to SA with the resumption of its direct round-trip services between Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, and Adelaide for the first time since 2020.
   
Bettison said that with the return of the flights and the arrival of the pandas, the connection between the state and China is stronger than ever.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): ZOE BETTISON, South Australia's State Tourism Minister
"The young couple, as they are now called, are here safely. Now they're going to be in quarantine for the next month. What a wonderful opportunity, for not only just our friendship between China and Australia, but a fantastic opportunity and a tourism draw card here in Adelaide."

In 2009, two pandas, Wang Wang and Fu Ni, began their stay at Adelaide Zoo. As the only giant pandas in the Southern Hemisphere, they drew more than 5 million visitors in 15 years until this November when they returned to China.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Adelaide, Australia.
(XHTV)