BEIJING, June 27. /TASS/. China has sent a pair of giant pandas to a US zoo for the first time in the last two decades, Guangming Daily reported.

According to the newspaper, pandas Yun Chuan and Xin Bao are on a charter flight from Chengdu (southwest China's Sichuan Province) to the San Diego Zoo. According to the newspaper, the pandas are flying to the US with a special mission - they will open "a new round of Sino-US cooperation in the protection of giant pandas." To ensure the health and safety of the two pandas during the flight, the Chinese side has prepared for them fresh bamboo shoots, fruits, vegetables and drinking water.

The animals are accompanied by Chinese and American experts.

According to the China Wildlife Conservation Association, the animals were sent to the US as part of a 10-year international cooperation program to protect giant pandas.

The giant panda is considered an unofficial symbol of China and is protected by the state. Sending these animals to different countries has become a tradition, which is often called panda diplomacy. Washington received the first pandas from Beijing in 1972 after President Richard Nixon's historic visit to China, which marked the warming of relations between the countries.