Chinese President Xi Jinping said China will send two pandas, Ping Ping and Fuhuan, to Zoo Atlanta in a few days. He called them an “envoy of friendship” between China and the United States while speaking alongside President Donald Trump at the White House.
Pandas have been at U.S. zoos since 1972, after former President Richard Nixon normalized relations with China, a tradition known as “panda diplomacy.” The National Zoo in Washington and the San Diego Zoo also currently have pandas from China.
Xi said he accepted Trump’s invitation to continue their friendship and expand cooperation. Trump said they had made “tremendous strides” on important issues, including trade, cited a “board of trade” he said had worked to balance U.S.-China trade, and said AI was among the topics he planned to discuss with Xi on Thursday.
