Number of captive pandas increases to 600 globally

A total of 60 captive panda cubs were born, 57 of which survived this year, leading to a captive panda population of 600 worldwide, China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration said Tuesday.

The administration made public the figure at a meeting featuring the giant panda breeding, technology and research, kicked off Tuesday in the city of Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The rising number of captive pandas showed that a healthy, dynamic and sustainable captive panda population has basically taken shape, according to the administration, adding research on wild giant pandas is also making progress.

Meanwhile, research and breeding institutions for giant pandas, including the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, are further promoting technology and innovation of panda breeding, and building key laboratories for endangered wildlife conservation, as well as establishing research partnerships with international organisations.

Zhang Zhihe, director of the panda research base, said the base would be expanded and continue to focus on the improvement of scientific panda research and protection, Xinhua reported.

There are fewer than 2,000 pandas living in the wild, mostly in the Chinese provinces of Sichuan and Shaanxi.