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BEIJING (AP) — They're at it again.
China and Japan — enemies, trading partners and uneasy neighbors with a tortured, bloody history they still struggle to navigate — are freshly at each other's rhetorical throats as 2026 begins. And it's over the same sticking points that have kept them resentful and suspicious for many decades: Japan's occupation of parts of China in the 20th century, the use of military power in East Asia, economics and politics — and, of course, pride.
Panda diplomacy
China is known for sending pandas to other countries as a sign of good will.
Since 1984, however, it has maintained ownership of the animals and any cubs they produce rather than gifting them due to a policy change.
Xiao Xiao and his sister Lei Lei were born in the Ueno zoo in 2021.
The 1972 gift from China triggered a so-called panda boom in Japan that has continued since then, with successors to the first pair of pandas sometimes becoming national celebrities.
However, Chinese-Japanese ties have deteriorated greatly over the past few months, particularly since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in November that a potential Chinese attack on Taiwan, the self-governing democratic island Beijing claims as its own, could bring about a Japanese military response.
That remark was met with outrage by Beijing, and even though the return of the pandas has been planned for some time, it is now being seen as a reflection of the cooling ties between the two countries, which historically have often had fraught relations.
When asked if China might replace the twins, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun gave a circumspect answer.
"I know giant pandas are loved by many in Japan, and we welcome Japanese friends to come visit them in China," he said.
Edited by: Wesley Dockery
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