The announcement that the two giant pandas will be sent to the Atlanta zoo comes just weeks before President Donald Trump visits China in mid-May for talks on trade and other issues with his counterpart, Xi Jinping.
China's program to loan giant pandas abroad has long been seen as a way for Beijing to exercise "soft power."
In recent years, however, as relations between China and the United States have soured, the need to preserve the species is also considered a factor in decisions to send the vulnerable animals to American zoos.
Ping Ping and Fu Shuang will be allowed to stay in Atlanta for ten years.
