Xi Jinping says pandas "will come to their new home in Zoo Atlanta"

At the White House on Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced before talks with President Donald Trump that two pandas, male Ping Ping and female Fu Shuang, are expected at Zoo Atlanta in the next few days. Until then, the schedule had not been made public after China and the zoo said in April the pair would be sent. Their placement follows an agreement involving Zoo Atlanta and the China Wildlife Conservation Association; both were born at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Four pandas left Atlanta for China in 2024, finishing a 25-year partnership. The development restarts a panda-lending effort that had halted during U.S.-China tensions. Xi welcomed the news and presented the exchange as a sign of goodwill between the two countries’ citizens.