Beijing will give the green light for a pair of pandas to remain at Adelaide Zoo, in a sign China's relationship with Australia is growing increasingly warm and fuzzy.
Fu Ni and her partner Wang Wang have been on loan from China since 2009 and were granted a five-year lease extension in 2019 to stay in South Australia.
Despite the best attempts of zoo staff to coax the pair to reproduce, the pitter-patter of baby panda paws has not been forthcoming, prompting concerns the Chinese government would decline to extend the lease beyond 2024.
But Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Wednesday confirmed the "likely continuation of panda presence at the Adelaide Zoo" after a meeting with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
"There are further arrangements to be put in place but I think we are on a good path to further panda presence," she told reporters.
"I did say to the foreign minister my children would be very pleased."
Since the 1980s, the Chinese government has leased out dozens of pandas to zoos across the world.
The policy, branded "panda diplomacy" by analysts, is seen as a way for Beijing to reward friendly governments while punishing those that act against its interests.
As tensions between the Chinese Communist Party and the West have ratcheted up in recent years, China has recalled pandas from zoos in the US and the UK.
Conversely, China loaned out a pair of pandas to Moscow Zoo in 2019 amid a deepening of its relationship with Russia.
The continued presence of pandas in Adelaide is another sign of the ongoing thaw in relations between Australia and its largest trading partner since the election of the Albanese government in 2022.
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said the pandas were not only a great draw for tourists but were a powerful diplomatic symbol for the state.
"It's actually a rare privilege that China has not afforded very many places anywhere in the world to have pandas," he said.
"We're lucky to have them here in South Australia and we'd love to see that continuing.
"We would love to see another generation of pandas here in Australia, but alas that is in the hands of Wang Wang and Fu Ni."
Zoos SA chief executive Elaine Bensted said she had not been advised whether the topic of giant pandas was on the radar for talks between Senator Wong and Mr Wang but the strong interest in their fate proved the love Australia had for the species.
"Zoos SA is continuing talks with the China Wildlife Conservation Association around the future of Fu Ni and Wang Wang and giant pandas at Adelaide Zoo," she said in a statement.
"We thank everyone for their interest in the future of giant pandas at Adelaide Zoo and the ongoing conservation work we undertake and support to help save the species from extinction."
