China sends 2 giant pandas to US after Washington summit

China has dispatched two giant pandas to the United States following a high-profile Washington summit, according to state media reports. The transfer of the black and white mammals, a practice known as "panda diplomacy," had been previously arranged but was officially announced on Thursday during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the US capital.

The pandas, named Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, embarked on a 15-hour journey from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport on a chartered flight operated by FedEx on Sunday, according to state news agency Xinhua.

The Boeing 777 aircraft, which carried the pandas, was closely monitored as it approached Alaska, roughly halfway through the transcontinental flight. Upon their arrival at Zoo Atlanta in Georgia, the pandas will spend the next ten years in captivity. A farewell ceremony was held for the duo by Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding before their departure, with experienced keepers from the US side accompanying them on the flight, as reported by the Global Times.

In preparation for the pandas' arrival, Zoo Atlanta has revamped its panda facilities and assembled a team of animal caretakers. The zoo has also secured a steady and long-term supply of bamboo, which is locally grown in Atlanta, as the region's climate closely resembles Chengdu's. Both pandas, born in 2020, are six years old - Ping Ping is male and Fu Shuang is female. In captivity, pandas typically live for around 30 years.

China has long employed pandas as symbols of soft-power diplomacy, with the practice dating back to 1972 when the country gifted a pair of pandas to the United States following US President Richard Nixon's historic visit. Recently, China recalled two pandas that were previously housed in Japan due to a diplomatic disagreement, which arose after the Japanese prime minister hinted at military intervention in the event of an attack on Taiwan.