Where Did the Tens of Millions of Dollars the U.S. Paid China for Panda Rentals Go?

Illustrative Image: Over the past 20 years, U.S. payments to China for panda rentals have totaled at least $86 million. According to regulations, these funds must be used for the conservation of wild giant pandas. (Video Screenshot)

People News – Over the past two decades, U.S. zoos have raised tens of millions of dollars in donations and sent the money to China. Under U.S. law, these funds must be used to protect wild giant pandas.

According to a report by The New York Times, U.S. payments to China for panda rentals over the past 20 years have totaled at least $86 million. Regulations stipulate that this money should be used for the conservation of wild pandas.

However, records show that the Chinese government has diverted millions of dollars to cover expenses for apartment buildings, roads, computers, museums, and other projects. For years, the CCP has even refused to disclose details about the spending of additional millions.

For two decades, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the agency responsible for overseeing these funds, has raised concerns with American zoo managers and Chinese officials. Documents reveal that the U.S. government froze payments to China three times due to incomplete record-keeping.

The report also noted that zoos were aware that the money was not always used for animal conservation. However, they feared that if funding were completely cut off, the CCP might demand the pandas’ return. Zoos rely on pandas to attract visitors, sell merchandise, and garner media attention.

According to records and former officials, regulatory agencies ultimately allowed the funds to continue flowing and agreed to refrain from conducting thorough audits of China's expenditures.

The New York Times traced over $86 million flowing from U.S. zoos to two organizations managed by the Chinese government over the past 20 years using financial reports, internal communications, photos, and archival records. Zoos in other parts of the world have also donated tens of millions of dollars. In the field of wildlife conservation, this is an enormous amount, far exceeding donations zoos make for any other species overseas.

Projects to be funded are approved by the zoos and listed in annual reports submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. According to The New York Times, records indicate that funds were allocated to projects such as building apartment complexes far from nature reserves. Records also show that the Chinese government used the money to purchase computers and satellite televisions for local government offices and to construct at least three museums.

The report noted that U.S. funding helped transform a panda breeding center in western China into a bustling tourist destination. According to an architect's plans, the center could soon attract as many visitors as Disneyland.

These examples represent only documented payments. The report stated that zoo managers sometimes struggled to persuade their Chinese counterparts to disclose how the money was spent.

Earlier agreements granted U.S. zoos the right to conduct on-site inspections of how funds were used. However, the contracts recently signed by the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington and the San Diego Zoo make no mention of such audits.

In letters to regulatory agencies, U.S. zoo managers admitted that financial accounts sometimes didn’t reconcile properly.

By 2010, the financial discrepancies had become untenable. When U.S. regulatory officials arrived in Beijing, the Chinese government had completely stopped reporting expenses, leading U.S. authorities to freeze $12 million in payments over two years, according to internal documents from the National Zoo.

The New York Times reported that the National Zoo declined to answer written questions about the funds, while the San Diego Zoo refused to comment. Chinese institutions and the Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens, which jointly oversee panda exchanges, also did not respond to inquiries.

Records indicate that the Chinese government has expanded nature reserves, and some U.S. funds have been allocated for patrol vehicles, small ranger stations, equipment, and other items necessary for land protection. Former regulatory officials confirmed seeing conservation projects during visits to China.

However, pandas live on only a fraction of this protected land, and their habitats are shrinking. Scientists from both China and the U.S. have concluded that road construction and tourism development within and around reserves have disrupted the natural habitats of pandas, further reducing their populations.

Their reports estimate that wild pandas now have smaller activity ranges compared to the pre-1980s period when foreign zoo funding began to pour into China.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service emphasized that it "takes federal law very seriously" and requires zoos housing pandas to provide "sufficiently detailed financial accounting data."

(Adapted from Radio Free Asia)