China Sends 2 Giant Pandas to Atlanta, Raising U.S. Total to 6
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 27
China Sends 2 Giant Pandas to Atlanta, Raising U.S. Total to 6
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 27
Summary
Ping Ping and Fu Shuang landed in Atlanta on Sunday after an overnight FedEx cargo flight from Chengdu, marking the delivery Xi Jinping promised during last week's White House visit.
The pair arrived as a goodwill gesture from Beijing under a 10-year loan tied to Zoo Atlanta's new research agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association.
Their arrival expands the U.S. panda population to six, after China sent pairs to San Diego and Washington in 2024 following a period with no pandas in the country.
The move revives China's long-running panda diplomacy tradition dating to 1972, even as Xi's summit with Trump produced few concrete gains amid trade and security tensions.