On January 24, 2025, the ICAS Team was invited by the Chinese Embassy to attend a reception celebrating the arrival of the new pair of giant pandas and the 2025 Chinese New Year.
The reception was joined by Ambassador Xie Feng and his wife, Madam Wang Dan, as well as Minister Jing Quan and Minister Qiu Wenxing of the Chinese Embassy. Acting Coordinator at the Office of Chinese Affairs of the State Department Collin Crosby, Special Envoy of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities Carla Canales, Director of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo Brandie Smith, Secretary of the District of Columbia Kimberly Bassett, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, former U.S. ambassador to China Max Baucus also attended the reception.
