As China and Japan cross swords in their first security talks in four years, the panda prevails

People look at the female giant panda Xiang Xiang ahead of her return to China, at the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo.

Visitors watching female giant panda Xiang Xiang ahead of her return to China, at the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, on Feb 19, 2023.

PHOTO: AFP

Walter Sim

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TOKYO – Japan and China are often at loggerheads over ideology and allegiances, with their leaders wont to giving each other the cold shoulder – but the cuddly panda has transcended the animosity.

Japan bade a

teary farewell

to four pandas flown to China this week upon the end of a loan agreement, just as the two countries held their first security dialogue since February 2019 on Wednesday.

As China and Japan cross swords in their first security talks in four years, the panda prevails

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