Meet America’s newest giant pandas, Yun Chuan and Xin Bao

SAN DIEGO (AP) — California’s governor flew in for the young bears’ debut. Throngs of media gathered inside the zoo, while the city of San Diego warned of traffic jams ahead of the much-anticipated event Thursday.

The San Diego Zoo rolled out the red carpet for the first public showing of its celebrity residents, who were already dressed in black-and-white attire. The two giant pandas, the first to enter the U.S. in two decades, seemed unfazed by all the attention, sunbathing and chowing down on bamboo in their new home.

For years, the Chinese government has loaned pandas to zoos around the world in a practice called “panda diplomacy.” These fuzzy ambassadors have long been a symbol of the U.S.-China friendship, ever since Beijing gifted a pair of pandas to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., in 1972.

But in recent years, China stopped renewing panda loans to zoos and calling back home the animals it had given to Western countries as relations soured. The San Diego Zoo’s previous pandas left in 2018 and 2019.

Then in February, the China Wildlife Conservation Association announced it was sending two more pandas to San Diego and also signing agreements with the zoo in the Spanish capital of Madrid, quelling fears that Beijing was ending its historic panda diplomacy. San Diego’s pandas arrived in June and have been acclimating to their new home before being seen by the public.

“This is about something much deeper, much richer, than just the two beautiful pandas we celebrate,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said at the opening ceremony that included dancing, music, and remarks from Chinese ambassador Xie Feng, and other local officials. “It’s about celebrating our common humanity.”

For the occasion, Newsom proclaimed Aug. 8 as