Helsinki, Finland — Finland will return two giant pandas to China in November, more than eight years ahead of time, as the zoo where they live can no longer afford their upkeep, the chair of the zoo’s board told Reuters on Tuesday. Since its founding in 1949, the People’s Republic of China has sent pandas to foreign zoos to strengthen trading ties, cement foreign relations and boost its international image. The Finnish agreement was for a stay of 15 years, but instead the pandas will soon go into a month-long quarantine before they are shipped back to China, according to Ahtari Zoo, the pandas’ current home. The pandas will soon go into a month-long quarantine before they are shipped back to China. Lehtikuva/Roni Rekomaa/ReutersRising inflation had added to the costs, the zoo said, and Finland’s government in 2023 rejected pleas for state funding.

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Persons: Xi Jinping, Ahtari, Risto Sivonen, Roni Rekomaa, Sivonen, ” Sivonen Organizations: Finland —, Reuters, Nordic, Ahtari Zoo Locations: Helsinki, Finland, Finland — Finland, China, People’s Republic of China