China has announced it will send two giant pandas — male Ping Ping and female Fu Shuang, both from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding — to Zoo Atlanta (one of the US's leading accredited zoos) as part of a decade-long conservation partnership, marking Beijing's latest act of so-called panda diplomacy despite ongoing US-China tensions. The announcement comes less than a month before President Donald Trump's expected mid-May visit to Beijing, where trade and other issues are set to be discussed with President Xi Jinping. Giant pandas have served as a symbol of US-China relations since 1972, and their return to Atlanta — where a previous pair produced seven cubs before departing in 2024 — is seen as a gesture aimed at strengthening bilateral ties and advancing global biodiversity efforts.