WATCH: Pandas are leaving the U.S. What does this mean for panda diplomacy?

After over 50 years of being Washington’s cutest attraction, the Giant Pandas of the Smithsonian National Zoo are returning to China. The animals have served as a long-standing symbol of soft diplomacy between the two nations. The first generation of bears were gifted to the states in 1972, following then-President Nixon’s historic visit to China in effort to open relations with the country. Since then, subsequent generations of pandas have been on loan from China.