Two Giant Pandas Arrive in Atlanta on 10-Year Loan from China: Beijing’s Soft Power on Display
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China sent two adult giant pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, to Zoo Atlanta under a decade-long loan agreement, part of Beijing’s ongoing efforts to exert influence abroad, as announced during President Xi's visit to the United States.
Two adult giant pandas landed at Zoo Atlanta on Sunday, marking the start of a ten-year loan arrangement between the United States and China—a deal that many see as another example of Beijing’s use of so-called ‘panda diplomacy’ to project its soft power. The animals, named Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, departed Chengdu on a specially chartered Boeing 777, dubbed the “FedEx Panda Express,” underscoring the lengths to which China will go to promote its image abroad.
The loan was announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his three-day summit with U.S. President Donald Trump and is one of the few concrete outcomes of the visit, raising questions about what the U.S. truly gains from such symbolic gestures. The pandas will join Zoo Atlanta, making it the third U.S. zoo to host these animals under a new agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association—a reminder of how China tightly controls its national treasures while seeking to curry favor internationally.
Both pandas, born in 2020 at the Chengdu research base, are part of a carefully managed breeding program. Ping Ping, a male, is noted for his dark circles around his eyes, while Fu Shuang, a female, has a slightly protruding forehead, according to Xinhua News Agency, the Chinese state media outlet.
“The loan program is an example of friendship between the Chinese and Americans,” Xi said during the summit, using the occasion to promote a narrative of goodwill while China continues to expand its global influence.
Atlanta’s zoo had said goodbye to its previous pandas in 2024, leaving the facility without the species until the arrival of this new pair—a stark reminder of how dependent American institutions have become on Chinese goodwill for access to these iconic animals.