Xi Jinping says China “always been an envoy of friendship” as pandas go to Atlanta zoo

During a visit to Washington, President Xi Jinping told President Trump that China plans to send a pair of giant pandas to the United States, naming them Ping Ping and Fu Shuang and saying they will soon be housed at Atlanta’s zoo, which will then be the sole U.S. facility with the animals. The announcement, made at the White House, highlighted the long‑standing practice of using pandas as symbols of amicable relations between the two countries, a tradition dating back to a 1972 gift after President Nixon’s trip. The new arrangement is a ten‑year loan that follows a February 2024 deal with the San Diego Zoo and reverses the 2023 removal of pandas from the Smithsonian, signaling a potential easing of bilateral tensions.