Two giant pandas arrive at Zoo Atlanta after Xi Jinping's US visit
Giant pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang have arrived at Zoo Atlanta from China following Xi Jinping's visit to Washington. Coverage places the loan within the long history of China's panda diplomacy.
1 / 2
The story, neutrally told
Two giant pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, have arrived in the United States and gone to Zoo Atlanta, following Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Washington. South China Morning PostN “Two giant pandas arrived in the US following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington” Read at South China Morning Post ↗ Daily MailR “Two giant pandas have arrived at a zoo in Atlanta as a gift from Chinese President Xi Jinping” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Zoo Atlanta announced the arrival on Sunday, saying it was "overjoyed" to welcome the pair after its previous 25-year partnership with China ended in 2024; the Daily Mail dates the arrival flight, a FedEx Boeing 777, at Hartsfield-Jackson airport to 27 September. South China Morning PostN “Zoo Atlanta announced the arrival of giant pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang on Sunday, saying it was “overjoyed” to welcome the pair after the zoo’s previous 25-year partnership with China ended in 2024.” Read at South China Morning Post ↗ Daily MailR “The 'FedEx Panda Express' Boeing 777 aircraft is seen arriving at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta on September 27” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Xi said during his US visit that the pandas would be sent as an "envoy of friendship" between the Chinese and American people. South China Morning PostN “Xi said during his US visit that the pandas would be sent as an “envoy of friendship” between the Chinese and American people.” Read at South China Morning Post ↗
The Daily Mail says the pair are on a 10-year stay and that Atlanta is a pointed choice, because the last three pandas in America were recalled to China from the same zoo in 2024, when it says relations were at a low under President Joe Biden. Daily MailR “The pandas boarded the chartered flight at 2am, kicking off their 10-year stay in the US”“In 2024, when relations with the States were at a frosty low under President Joe Biden, the last three pandas in America were summoned back to China from the same zoo.” Read at Daily Mail ↗ The practice known as panda diplomacy took off in the 1970s: China sent Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing to the US in 1972 after Richard Nixon's visit to China, and pandas also went to Japan after ties were established that year. South China Morning PostN “In the US, pandas became a symbol of China-US engagement in 1972, when Beijing sent Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing following then-president Richard Nixon’s historic visit to China” Read at South China Morning Post ↗ Daily MailR “He responded by presenting America with Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing” Read at Daily Mail ↗ China later moved from gifts to loans. The Daily Mail says zoos can pay as much as $1 million a year per panda, that any cubs automatically belong to China, and that fines of up to $500,000 apply if a panda dies and the zoo is held responsible. South China Morning PostN “China ending its practice of gifting pandas and shifting to loans to better protect the endangered species” Read at South China Morning Post ↗ Daily MailR “Zoos must now pay as much as a million dollars (about £750,000) a year for the privilege of looking after one.”“if a panda dies and the zoo is held responsible, fines of up to $500,000 are due.” Read at Daily Mail ↗
According to Chinese official figures cited by the South China Morning Post, China now has 40 giant pandas living overseas in 15 countries. The US has six pandas across three zoos, more than any other country outside China, after several US zoos returned pandas in 2023 and 2024. South China Morning PostN “China has 40 giant pandas living overseas in 15 countries, according to Chinese official figures.”“The US currently has six giant pandas across three zoos – more than any other country outside China.” Read at South China Morning Post ↗ Other hosts include South Korea (since 2016), Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Adelaide Zoo in Australia, Qatar (since 2022), Russia (since 2019) and European countries including France, Germany, Austria, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium. South China Morning PostN “South Korea has hosted giant pandas since 2016, when Ai Bao and Le Bao arrived under a joint conservation programme”“In Europe, pandas have been part of long-running conservation partnerships with countries including France, Germany, Austria, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium.” Read at South China Morning Post ↗ Japan has no giant pandas: twins Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei returned to China in January amid strained Beijing-Tokyo ties after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks about Taiwan. The South China Morning Post notes cooperation is sometimes suspended or loans left unrenewed when relations sour. South China Morning PostN “Japan is currently without any giant pandas. Twins Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei returned to China in January against a backdrop of strained Beijing-Tokyo ties following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks about Taiwan.”“Cooperation has also sometimes been suspended, or loan deals left unrenewed, with no new pandas for countries when relations have soured.” Read at South China Morning Post ↗
The Daily Mail adds that Donald Trump can claim to have repaired the relationship, and spends much of its piece on the early-20th-century history of Western panda hunting and capture. Daily MailR “Donald Trump will be able to crow that he has repaired the relationship.”“In 1929, two hunters – Ted Roosevelt and his brother Kermit, the sons of former President Teddy Roosevelt – set out with a different aim” Read at Daily Mail ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on.
Left0 outlets
No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Centre1 outlet
- Framing
- A explainer-style survey of panda diplomacy and which countries host Chinese pandas, led by the Atlanta arrival.
- Emphasis
- Country-by-country list of hosts, links between panda loans and diplomatic ties, and the Japan case after Takaichi's Taiwan remarks.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Says little about loan costs or Chinese ownership of cubs.
- Charged language
- “beloved ambassadors”“envoy of friendship”
- For example
-
“continuing a decades-old tradition in which the beloved fuzzy ambassadors have become symbols of China’s ties with countries around the world.” — South China Morning Post
Right1 outlet
- Framing
- A colourful, sceptical feature that casts the pandas as a "cuddly secret weapon" China uses to exploit American affection.
- Emphasis
- Celebrity-style cuteness, Pat Nixon's 1972 visit, China's monopoly and the costly loan terms, and a long historical digression on panda hunting.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Gives no list of other host countries and little on the Japan or other current diplomatic context.
- Charged language
- “cuddly secret weapon”“ruthlessly exploits”“Zhou Enlai's regime”“The Communist government”“As a statement of international hostility, that was brutal.”
- For example
-
“Put bluntly, the West loved giant pandas – and China had the monopoly.” — Daily Mail
“A cuddly secret weapon: Americans to go ga-ga for Ping Ping the panda - as China ruthlessly exploits our obsession for its own ends” — Daily Mail
What every side reports
- Ping Ping and Fu Shuang have arrived in the US and are going to Zoo Atlanta after Xi Jinping's visit to Washington.
- Pandas were first sent to the US in 1972 after Richard Nixon's visit to China.
- China moved from gifting pandas to loaning them.
- Zoo Atlanta's earlier panda arrangement ended in 2024.
Where accounts differ
-
Whether the pandas are a gift or a loan, and what the move signals
- Centre
- Presents the pandas as an "envoy of friendship" in a long tradition of goodwill gestures tied to ties between countries, often alongside conservation partnerships.
- Right
- Calls them a "gift" yet "diplomatic loan", and portrays China as exploiting Western affection for pandas, with pandas as "a form of credit, at a high rate of interest".
Zoo Atlanta organisation
Zoo Atlanta announced the pair's arrival and said it was "overjoyed", following the end of its earlier 25-year partnership with China in 2024.
“saying it was “overjoyed” to welcome the pair after the zoo’s previous 25-year partnership with China ended in 2024.” — South China Morning Post
Xi Jinping person
Xi said the pandas would serve as an "envoy of friendship" between the Chinese and American people.
“Xi said during his US visit that the pandas would be sent as an “envoy of friendship” between the Chinese and American people.” — South China Morning Post
Panda diplomacy topic
Described by the South China Morning Post as a decades-old tradition of goodwill symbols; the Daily Mail describes it as China exploiting a Western obsession.
“China has used its unique giant pandas as symbols of friendship and goodwill in its relations with other countries, in a practice known as panda diplomacy.” — South China Morning Post
“Pandas ceased to be presents and became a form of credit, at a high rate of interest.” — Daily Mail
East and Southeast Asia1 outlet
The South China Morning Post gives a factual, relationship-focused survey of where pandas are hosted.
“China has 40 giant pandas living overseas in 15 countries, according to Chinese official figures.” — South China Morning Post
South China Morning Post
UK and Ireland1 outlet
The Daily Mail writes a human-interest and historical piece that is wary of Chinese motives.
“as China ruthlessly exploits our obsession for its own ends” — Daily Mail
Daily Mail
Left0 articles
No coverage yet.
Centre1 article
-
Panda diplomacy: all the countries currently hosting China’s beloved ambassadors
Neutral Explanatory overview of panda diplomacy and host countries, tying panda loans to the state of bilateral relations.
Right1 article
-
Critical Light, wry feature that portrays China as cynically leveraging pandas for influence, mixed with history and anecdote.
- 1 Oct 23:00 First South China Morning PostN Panda diplomacy: all the countries currently hosting China’s beloved ambassadors
- 2 Oct 10:31 +11h 31m Daily MailR A cuddly secret weapon: Americans to go ga-ga for Ping Ping the panda - as China ruthlessly exploits our obsession for its own ends
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.