Beijing has long practiced panda diplomacy through a lucrative rent-a-panda program, portraying the animals as “envoys of friendship.” In Washington, Xi Jinping announced that China would send two giant pandas to Zoo Atlanta as precisely that: “envoys of friendship.” Native to the bamboo forests of southeastern Tibet and adjoining regions, giant pandas remain a vulnerable species. By allowing overseas zoos to host a female-male breeding pair for a standard fee of $1 million a year, China has used pandas to project the image of a nation that is gentle in appearance yet resolute in power. To soften the transactional nature of the arrangement, Beijing now prohibits zoos from using terms such as “lease,” “rental,” or “loan.”