<P> The People's Republic of China used panda diplomacy in the 1950s and has become known in recent decades for this practice . From 1958 to 1982, China gave 23 pandas to nine different countries . One highlight of panda diplomacy was the Chinese government's gift of two pandas, Ling - Ling and Hsing - Hsing, to the United States in 1972 after President Richard Nixon's historic visit to China (President Nixon reciprocated by sending back a pair of musk oxen). Upon the pandas' arrival in April 1972, First Lady Pat Nixon donated the pandas to the National Zoo in Washington D.C., where she welcomed them in an official ceremony . Over twenty thousand people visited the pandas the first day they were on display, and an estimated 1.1 million visitors came to see them the first year they were in the United States . The pandas were wildly popular and China's gift was seen as an enormous diplomatic success, evidence of China's eagerness to establish official relations with the U.S. It was so successful that British Prime Minister Edward Heath asked for pandas for the United Kingdom during a visit to China in 1974 . Chia - Chia and Ching - Ching therefore arrived at the London Zoo a few weeks later . </P> <P> By 1984, however, pandas were no longer used purely as agents of diplomacy . Instead, China began to offer pandas to other nations only on ten - year loans . The standard loan terms include a fee of up to US $1,000,000 per year and a provision that any cubs born during the loan be the property of the People's Republic of China . Since 1998, because of a World Wildlife Fund lawsuit, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service allows a U.S. zoo to import a panda only if the zoo can ensure that China will channel more than half of its loan fee into conservation efforts for wild pandas and their habitat . </P> <P> Pandas have become important diplomatic symbols, not only to China . In a visit by Hu Jintao to Japan in May 2008, China announced the loan of two pandas to Japan . The President was quoted as saying "Giant pandas are very popular among the Japanese, and they are a symbol of the friendly ties between Japan and China ." Actions that other countries take with pandas are often seen as laden with meaning . For example, British diplomats worried that a 1964 transfer of a panda from a London zoo to Moscow would worsen Sino - Soviet relations . In January 2006, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick was photographed hugging a 5 - month - old panda cub during his visit to Sichuan Province . The image was widely broadcast by the Chinese media and was purportedly interpreted as a sign that Zoellick supported better relations between China and the United States . </P> <P> On 16 April 2014, China had planned to send a pair of pandas named Fu Wa and Feng Yi to Malaysia to mark their 40 years diplomatic ties but were postponed following the MH370 tragedy . The two pandas later arrived in Kuala Lumpur International Airport on 21 May 2014 and placed at the National Zoo of Malaysia (Zoo Negara). </P>

What is the panda a symbol of in china