Two giant pandas from China are headed to Atlanta in a new 10-year conservation agreement.
Pandas Ping Ping, a male, and Fu Shuang, a female, will live at Zoo Atlanta, the China Wildlife Conservation Association said in a statement on Friday.
The organization signed the research agreement with the United States zoo last year, she said, noting that the agreement continues the “panda connection” shared by the people of the two nations for more than 20 years.
The pair of pandas come from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in southwestern Sichuan province, according to the statement.
“Zoo Atlanta is pleased and honored to once again be trusted as the custodian of this precious species,” Zoo President Raymond B. King said in a statement.
“We look forward to meeting Ping Ping and Fu Shuang.”
The zoo welcomed its first giant pandas Yang Yang and Lun Lun when they arrived in 1999.
The pair produced seven cubs during a 25-year deal before returning to China with their two youngest in 2024, when that deal expired.
The American side has prepared for the arrival of Ping Ping and Fu Shuang by renovating their habitat to make it “more comfortable and safer,” the Chinese association said.
The panda news comes as US President Donald Trump is expected to meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing next month.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said Friday that the new agreement “will contribute to the welfare of giant pandas… and the friendship between the people of China and the US.”
