China sends two giant pandas off to Atlanta zoo after Xi-Trump summit

The pandas will make a 15-hour flight journey to reach AtlantaImage: Xu Bingjie/Xinhua/IMAGOAdvertisementTwo giant pandas departed China's southwestern city of Chengdu for new home in Atlanta, as part of an agreement between Washington and Beijing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that the pandas would be relocated to the capital of the US state of Georgia during his three-day summit with US President Donald Trump in Washington.

Xi said the panda loan program was an example of "friendship between the Chinese and Americans."

The loan was one of the few concrete things to come out of the summit.China has long used pandas as a key part of its global diplomatic outreach, turning such agreements into a well tested tool of soft power. On the flip side, Beijing has also let agreements lapse and pulled pandas back from countries when tensions arise. 

Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, two adult pandas, will be on loan to Zoo Atlanta for 10 years, as part of the agreement. Both pandas were born in 2020 and have lived at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.

A farewell ceremony was held before their departure.

Ping Ping, who is male, Fu Shuang, female, departed from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport on a chartered flight around 3:00 a.m. on Sunday (1900 GMT on Saturday).

The FedEx-operated Boeing 777 was equipped with steamed corn buns, bamboo shoots and carrots to keep the animals nourished during their journey, Chinese media reported. They are also being accompanied by experienced US zoo keepers who had traveled to China ahead of time.

In preparation of their arrival, Zoo Atlanta renovated its panda facilities and ensured a long and stable supply of locally grown bamboo. The zoo has decades of experience with pandas, hosting the animals between 1999 and 2024.