Chinese President Xi Jinping brought a softer touch to his meeting with US President Donald Trump and other White House officials on Thursday, announcing that two giant pandas would soon head to Atlanta as an “envoy of friendship”.
Get breaking news anytime, anywhere. Download the TOI app now!
The announcement was the latest development in a new panda conservation agreement between the Atlanta zoo and the China Wildlife Conservation Association. Under the agreement, male panda Ping Ping and female panda Fu Shuang are expected to arrive from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.
"We can't wait to meet Ping Ping and Fu Shuang and to welcome our members, guests, city, and community back to the wonder and joy of giant pandas," Atlanta zoo president Raymond B. King said in a statement in April.
China's foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the new conservation cooperation would help improve the health and well-being of giant pandas, promote global biodiversity protection and strengthen friendship between the Chinese and American people.
Atlanta's earlier panda agreement with China, which ended in 2024, saw pandas Lun Lun and Yang Yang produce seven cubs, according to the zoo. The pair and their two youngest offspring left Atlanta for China in October 2024, while their other offspring were already in China.
There is no confirmed date yet for Ping Ping and Fu Shuang's arrival in Atlanta. A zoo spokesperson told CBS News Atlanta that the date would not be disclosed for now.
Meanwhile, the zoo is carrying out facility upgrades and other preparations to make the pandas' new home safer and more comfortable, with technical guidance from Chinese experts.
Pandas have long been more than a popular attraction in the US-China relationship. Beijing gifted a pair to the National Zoo in Washington, DC, in 1972, making the animals a lasting symbol of friendship between the two countries.
China has also used its giant panda loan programme as an instrument of soft-power diplomacy around the world. The policy is famously known as "panda diplomacy"
Two US zoos currently have pandas. The National Zoo and the San Diego Zoo both received pandas from China in 2024.
