Pandas put a soft face on Beijing’s trade row with US

Giant pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang delighted visitors to Zoo Atlanta during their public debut Friday, chewing bamboo and lounging in their new US habitat while on loan from China.

A male named Ping Ping and female Fu Shuang arrived from Chengdu in via a FedEx flight dubbed the “Panda Express,” and are to be hosted in the southern US facility for the next 10 years.

Pandas are “animals that have got a unique ability to inspire curiosity, instill passion, evoke joy, and unite people around the globe,” chief executive officer Raymond King told onlookers at Zoo Atlanta. “This extraordinary spirit of partnership helps create a future for a species that is truly beloved the world over.”

Fu Shuang eats as Zoo Atlanta introduces its other new giant panda, Ping Ping, to the public on Friday.

Photo: AP

In preparation for their arrival, Zoo Atlanta has renovated its panda facilities and assembled a team of animal caretakers.

“I think they inspire happiness,” zoo visitor Rachel Totts said. “They make people smile. I’ve never seen someone not say ‘Oh, it’s so cute!’ when they’re looking at a panda.”

Native to temperate forest habitats in East Asia, the lumbering black-and-white mammals do not typically travel long distances in the wild. However, many have been shipped to zoos around the world as apart of Beijing’s decades-long “panda diplomacy” program to foster foreign ties.

The furry show of “soft power” came as top US officials on Friday called on China to uphold the trade agreement made in October last year’s meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). The accord calmed tensions after a whirlwind of tariff hikes, and required China to buy US soybeans while suspending export controls on rare earths.

Before 2016 pandas were considered endangered, but are now listed as “vulnerable” by wildlife advocates, and an estimated 1,800 pandas live in the wild. The Chinese government has established more than 50 panda reserves for conservation, but in the wild the bears continue to face threats of habitat loss and poaching.

Atlanta previously hosted pandas on loan from China starting in 1999, and seven panda cubs have been born at the zoo. All are now in Chengdu, and Zoo Atlanta has not had any pandas since 2024.

In 1972, China gifted a pair of pandas to Washington, following US president Richard Nixon’s historic visit to the communist nation.

Beijing recalled two of its pandas from Japan early this year, following a diplomatic spat that began when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi hinted that Tokyo could intervene militarily in the event of any attack on Taiwan.