Zoo Atlanta

Two giant pandas have left China on a flight to Atlanta, where they will live at the city's zoo on loan from the Chinese government. The transfer is the latest instance of Beijing's long-standing practice of "panda diplomacy," using the animals to strengthen ties with other countries.

China is sending two giant pandas to Zoo Atlanta, following a summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. The move is widely read as a revival of panda diplomacy, Beijing's long-standing practice of lending pandas to signal warmer ties with other countries. Pandas returned from the US in recent years amid strained relations, so the new loan is being taken as a sign of a thaw between Washington and Beijing.

China is sending two new giant pandas to Atlanta, continuing its long-standing practice of 'panda diplomacy' in which the animals are loaned abroad as a gesture of goodwill. The arrival is being covered widely as a sign of warmer China-US engagement, since pandas were previously withdrawn from American zoos amid strained relations. Zoo Atlanta is expected to become one of the few US homes for the species.