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“ During their five-day visit, Mr Hu and his wife, Liu Yongqing, will meet Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, lecture students at a top private university, play table tennis with the Japanese Prime Minister, Yasuo Fukuda, and perhaps even revive China’s famous “panda diplomacy”. Many hope that the Chinese leader will promise a replacement for Ling Ling, Japan’s oldest giant panda who died in a Tokyo zoo last week. The unfortunate timing of Ling Ling’s death has fuelled speculation that Beijing may suspend its ban on lending the animals to zoos because of the panda’s endangered status.
Tibet threat to Sino-Japanese rapprochement elations - Asia, World - The Independent
