Since the 1980s, the number of giant pandas has recovered significantly. In China, the number of wild giant pandas has increased. The total wild population of giant pandas in China has grown from about 1,100 in the 1980s to nearly 1,900 today.

Giant pandas mainly live in the mountains and forests of Sichuan Province in southwest China. Chengdu operates a research center that conducts an extensive breeding program for the animals, which are considered extremely reluctant to mate.

In China, pandas also have political significance and are part of "giant panda diplomacy." China has carried out cooperative research on giant panda conservation with 26 institutions in 20 countries, and has rented giant pandas to zoos in some countries, including Berlin Zoo. It is understood that there are currently 56 giant pandas living abroad. They always belong to China, no matter where they live.