Fans of the South Korean-born giant panda Fu Bao protest in Seoul

Kim Jae-Hwan / SOPA Images

Giant Panda Fubao was born in South Korea in 2020 and returned to China in 2024. China only rents pandas to foreign zoos, and pandas typically have to return their offspring within a few years of birth to participate in China's breeding program. China has long used "panda diplomacy" as a form of soft power, and Fu Bao's parents, Ai Bao and Le Bao, were gifted to South Korea by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2016.