Giant pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang touch down in Atlanta as Xi's summit gift to Trump bears fruit

From the Newshound archive · first published 28 September 2026.

China's panda diplomacy scored its most visible win in years as Ping Ping and Fu Shuang landed at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport aboard a chartered Boeing 777 dubbed the 'FedEx Panda Express' after a 16-hour flight from Chengdu. The male and female giant pandas were the most-tracked aircraft on FlightRadar24 as they crossed Alaska. Zoo Atlanta president Raymond King called it "a historic moment for the City of Atlanta, the state of Georgia, and beyond." Xi Jinping announced the transfer during his three-day summit with President Trump, one of the few concrete results of talks heavy on symbolism but light on breakthroughs.

Both pandas will spend a month in biosecure quarantine before their public debut date is confirmed.

Zoo Atlanta has renovated its panda facilities and secured a locally grown bamboo supply for their 10-year stay.

Atlanta joins San Diego Zoo and Washington's Smithsonian National Zoo as the only three American facilities now hosting giant pandas.