San Francisco mayor announces the city will receive pandas from China

BEIJING (AP) — San Francisco is the latest U.S. city preparing to receive a pair of pandas from China, in a continuation of Beijing’s famed “panda diplomacy.”

San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced the panda loan in Beijing on Friday, alongside officials from China Wildlife Conservation Association, or CWCA. It will be San Francisco's first time hosting the beloved animals long-term — the result of a yearlong advocacy campaign, Breed said.

San Diego previously announced it was receiving two pandas back in February.

China is home to the only natural habitat for pandas and owns most of the black-and-white bears in the world. Beijing loans the animals to other countries as a tool for diplomacy and wildlife conservation.