A new pair of giant pandas from China – male Ping Ping and female Fu Shuang – will travel to the United States under a new 10-year conservation cooperation agreement between the China Wildlife Conservation Association and Zoo Atlanta.

The two pandas, both from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, are expected to begin a new journey of joint research and conservation work.

To prepare for the pandas' arrival, Zoo Atlanta has been upgrading and renovating its panda facilities. Chinese experts have also provided technical guidance on enclosure standards, feeding management, food supply and veterinary care to help ensure the animals can live safely and comfortably in the US.

The new agreement follows a highly successful 25-year collaboration between the China Wildlife Conservation Association and Zoo Atlanta, carried out with support from the Chengdu base. Under the previous cooperation program, giant pandas Lun Lun and Yang Yang arrived in Atlanta in 1999 and gave birth to seven cubs across five litters between 2006 and 2016 – regarded as one of the most successful giant panda breeding partnerships between China and Western countries.

Beyond breeding, the two sides also carried out cooperation in behavioral training, preventive veterinary medicine and conservation education. The partnership helped advance panda research and conservation techniques.

The new round of cooperation is expected to further promote collaboration in disease prevention and control, scientific exchange, wild panda conservation and the development of China's Giant Panda National Park.

The return of giant pandas to Atlanta comes at a time when international biodiversity protection is receiving growing global attention. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, giant pandas are currently classified as "vulnerable."

China has strengthened habitat protection through the Giant Panda National Park system, which integrated 73 nature reserves across key panda habitats and covers about 22,000 square kilometers.

Giant pandas have long been seen as a symbol of China-US friendship. The history of panda exchanges between the two countries dates back to 1972, when China sent a pair of pandas to the Smithsonian's National Zoo following then US President Richard Nixon's visit to China. In recent years, new pandas have also arrived at the San Diego Zoo and the National Zoo in Washington DC.

For many people in both countries, giant pandas have become symbols of cultural exchange and people-to-people friendship as well as wildlife conservation.

The upcoming arrival of Ping Ping and Fu Shuang has sparked excitement among panda fans in the US and is expected to renew public enthusiasm for panda conservation in both countries.