WASHINGTON: Two giant pandas destined for the Washington zoo arrived in the United States from China on Tuesday, the latest in Beijing's campaign of international "panda diplomacy."
Live television images showed the arrival of the pandas, Bao Li and Qing Bao, on a FedEx cargo plane dubbed the "Panda Express" that landed at Dulles airport in Virginia.
Bao Li, a male panda, and Qing Bao, a female, will be housed at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington under a decade-long breeding and research agreement.
Only a few of the beloved black-and-white bears remain in the United States after almost all were returned to China in recent years under pre-arranged contracts – including all three of the National Zoo's pandas last November.
The lack of immediate replacements was viewed by many as a symbol of the heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing.
China has been using so-called "panda diplomacy" since 1972, when the first animals were sent to Washington as a gift, following US president Richard Nixon's historic visit to the Communist nation.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said after meeting his counterpart Joe Biden at a summit in California last November that China could send new pandas as "envoys of friendship between the Chinese and American people."
In August, the San Diego zoo welcomed two new giant pandas, the first to be sent by China to the United States in 21 years.
Anticipation for the pandas' arrival in Washington has been high, with the National Zoo's website emblazoned with a banner that reads: "The pandas are coming."
The National Zoo will be closed to visitors on Tuesday to allow for an orderly arrival of the three-year-old pandas.
Renovations have been undertaken at the panda habitat "to enhance the safety of the facilities and maximise space for the bears to roam," according to the zoo's website.
The new structures constructed for the pandas include shallow pools to allow them to bathe and bamboo stands that require the bears to mimic the foraging techniques they would use in the wild.
The bears will not be available to the public for more than a month after their arrival as they will need to be quarantined and acclimate to their new habitat.