Re in black and white
enterprises of Finland and China.
The pandas will stay in Copenhagen for 15 years.
The opening of the Panda House also saw the beginning of the SinoDenmark Giant Panda joint research cooperation project.
“The 15-year Sino-Danish Panda International Research Cooperation Project has officially begun. The two sides will start cooperation and research in the fields of giant panda breeding, animal behavior and protection education, and will jointly promote the protection of endangered wildlife such as giant pandas,” said Zhang Zhihe, director of the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.
Horwitz said: “No doubt that we have learned a lot from China. And we also hope to be able to offer good examples from Denmark so that we could learn from each other ... and we are very much looking forward to the cooperation with China in the joint research on these two pandas here.”
Zhang believes the pandas will promote exchanges and cooperation between China and Denmark in many fields.
“For example, from the perspective of forestry and scientific research, it promotes the development of giant panda scientific research and the protection of giant panda breeding,” he said.
“From the perspective of environmental protection and public education, as the flagship species in the animal world, the panda can convey the concept of environmental protection and attract the Danish public’s attention to biodiversity,” he said.
Following a 16-year period of consultation and preparation, two pandas were gifted to the Netherlands during a state visit by the Dutch royal couple in October 2015, and arrived in the Netherlands in April 2017.
Wu Wen, the female, and Xing Ya, the male, met hundreds of fans in May 2017.
“If pandas are lent to a country, it is an expression of friendship and connection,” former Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said.
Martijn van Dam, state secretary for economic affairs, said: “Through an intensive program, China has succeeded to stop the decline of the number of pandas. China also makes efforts to maintain the natural habitat of the giant pandas. We would also like to contribute to that.”
He hoped that, with the help of the pandas, Dutch children would be inspired to become new nature protectors.
“Let this be a sign of hope that with joint forces we can protect our nature worldwide, and let this be the beginning of a wave of inspiration for the new generation,” van Dam said.