China said it will send two giant pandas to Zoo Atlanta in Georgia as part of a new decade-long conservation cooperation agreement.
The announcement came less than a month before President Trump’s anticipated visit to Beijing in mid-May.
The pandas — male Ping Ping and female Fu Shuang — come from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China.
The move is seen as part of Beijing’s ongoing “panda diplomacy,” a soft-power tool amid tensions between the U.S. and China, while conservation goals also play a significant role.
While the partnership is being formalized, Zoo Atlanta is actively upgrading their facilities to prepare the environment for the pandas.
“Zoo Atlanta is delighted and honored to yet again be trusted as stewards of this treasured species and to partner with the China Wildlife Conservation Association on the continued conservation and research efforts that are the most important outcomes of this cooperation,” Raymond B. King, president and CEO of Zoo Atlanta, said in a statement on the zoo’s website.
China’s announcement comes as the previous panda agreement ended. Zoo Atlanta’s previous panda agreement ran from 1999 to 2024, during which pandas Lun Lun and Yang Yang produced seven offspring before returning to China in October 2024.
This follows similar agreements in 2024, when the National Zoo in Washington and the San Diego Zoo also received pandas from China.
About 72% of wild giant pandas are classified as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and are under strict protection.
• Juliet La Sala can be reached at jlasala@washingtontimes.com.
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