President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping marked their Washington summit with a symbolic gift exchange, pairing an American bald eagle statue with the promise of two pandas for Zoo Atlanta.
Trump unveiled the statue during remarks before a state dinner at the White House on Thursday. The eagle is shown perched on a branch above a podium and was designed, he said, in “personal collaboration” with first lady Melania Trump.
“The bald eagle is a national symbol of the United States and an embodiment of the free and soaring spirit of America,” Trump said. “We hope it’ll find a nice place, a wonderful place, in Beijing.”
Xi rose from his seat and applauded after Trump gestured towards him. The Chinese president did not present a gift during his toast, but had earlier announced that China would send two pandas to Atlanta as “envoys of friendship”.
The animals, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, were both born in China in 2020. Their arrival will give Zoo Atlanta a new pair after the last family of pandas at the zoo was returned to China in October 2024.
For the first time in decades, there are currently no pandas in the United States. Zoo Atlanta had been in talks to acquire another pair before Xi’s announcement made the plan official.
Pandas have long been used as diplomatic gifts by China. Two were sent to the United States after President Nixon’s landmark visit to Beijing in 1972, following comments from first lady Pat Nixon to China’s premier, Zhou Enlai, about her affection for the animals.
Zoos in San Diego and Memphis have also hosted pandas, which are often returned to China after periods on loan.
