Xi Jinping announced that he will send two pandas to the US as a symbol of friendship
The Chinese government will send two pandas to the US as a symbol of friendship between the two countries. This was announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his speech at the welcoming ceremony organized by US President Donald Trump at the White House.
Xi Jinping announced that two pandas will be sent to the US as a gesture of friendship.
"The giant panda has always been a symbol of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples. In a few days, two pandas, Pin Pin and Fu Shuan, will arrive at their new home at the Atlanta Zoo and meet the American people," Xi Jinping said.
Trump welcomed Xi Jinping on September 23 at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington. Trump's decision to personally welcome Xi Jinping upon his arrival was a departure from diplomatic protocol that has been in place for more than 60 years. This relates to the established practice of receiving foreign leaders, according to which the American president usually does not welcome them directly upon landing at a military base.
The last such case occurred in 1962, when John F. Kennedy welcomed British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan on the base's runway.
Xi Jinping will be in the US from September 23 to September 25. This is the Chinese leader's first state visit to the country in more than a decade.
Panda diplomacy is China's practice of sending giant pandas abroad as a tool of soft power: initially as a free state gift, and since the mid-1980s on a long-term lease basis. The animals remain the property of China, and their appearance in another country's zoo usually signals "special" or improving relations. The giant panda lives in the wild only in China.