TOKYO, May 4: China President Hu Jintao said on Sunday he is considering lending more giant pandas to Japan ahead of his landmark visit to Tokyo this week.

Hu’s remarks came after Japan’s Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda asked to borrow some giant pandas from China after Ling Ling, one of the best-loved animals at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo, died of old age last week.

“It’s disappointing that the panda at the Ueno Zoo died,” he said in comments made to Japanese reporters in Beijing and broadcast by Japan’s public broadcaster, NHK.

“We are hurriedly studying the matter” of lending more giant pandas to Tokyo, he said.

Ling Ling, the only giant panda owned by Japan, died at the age of 22 — the equivalent of 70 in human years.

His death came just ahead of Hu’s visit to Tokyo, during which zoo officials are hoping for an agreement that will bring another panda to Japan.

“Giant pandas are the symbol of the Japan-China friendly relations,” Hu said on Sunday.

China has a long tradition of offering giant pandas as gifts to foreign governments to improve ties, but now only leases the animals abroad since they are an endangered species.—AFP