China's diplomatic giant pandas headed to US after Donald Trump and Xi Jinping meeting

Two Chinese diplomatic giant pandas are headed to the US after Donald Trump and Xi Jinping's White House meeting.

China's latest emissaries will settle in Georgia's Zoo Atlanta as Beijing continues its long tradition of using "panda diplomacy" to tighten bonds between countries.

The two pandas, named Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, left Chengdu at 2.55am Sunday morning local time (7.55pm BST Saturday), China's state news agency said.

Video from Xinhua showed crowds waving goodbye to the pandas and holding placards as the pair were taken to the airport from the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base in Sichuan province.

Vehicles then towed the animals before being loaded into the jet.

Ping Ping and Fu Shuang will spend 15 hours in the air before being met by veterinarians and breeders at Zoo Atlanta.

They will then be placed into panda quarantine, starting their 10-year loan in the US, China's news agency added.

The Atlanta zoo staff and Chinese team held "many online and offline meetings to carry out in-depth exchanges on the upgrading and transformation plan" for the venue that house the pandas, the agency said.

Beijing has a long tradition of loaning its rare, cute and fluffy giant pandas across the globe.

China first sent the adorable animals to the US in 1972 under Chairman Mao Zedong and Richard Nixon.

"The giant panda has been an envoy of friendship between the Chinese and Americans," President Xi said on Thursday.

Ping Ping, born on March 17 2020, has the same name as the first ever panda Chairman Mao sent to the Soviet Union.

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His name means "peace" and is "easily recognisable" because of his large black patches around his eyes, according to China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

Ping Ping also has "demonstrated proficiency" at climbing trees with a stocky build and moves nimbly, it added.

The female panda, Fu Shuang, was born on October 18 2020 and is characterised by a "small tuft of fluffy fur on its head and a full, protruding forehead", Beijing said.

Their keeper Fu Jia told Chinese state broadcaster CCTV Ping Ping is "brave and gentle", and often makes "soft whimpering sounds" when hungry for a treat.

Fu Shuang is "crazy about honey" and capable at foraging, the panda keeper added.

Giant pandas were no longer classified as endangered in 2016, but China actively makes efforts to grow and preserve the species for national identity and diplomacy reasons.

Zookeepers at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding said the pair should be "docile and like each other", allowing them to "mate naturally".

While panda diplomacy has lasted for over 50 years, tensions around artificial intelligence, trade wars, and expanding military power may not be calmed by Zoo Atlanta's latest attraction.