Indonesia welcomed a pair of giant pandas on loan from China on Thursday, a move officials said would boost friendship and cultural cooperation between the two countries.
The pandas, Cai Tao and Hu Chun from Sichuan province, will spend the next 10 years in a special enclosure in the Taman Safari zoo on the outskirts of Jakarta.
"The giant panda is the national treasure of China. They are the messengers of friendship, symbols of peace," Sun Weide, China's Charge d'Affaires in Indonesia, said at a ceremony.
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Indonesian Customs officers take a selfie with a worker in panda costume during the arrival ceremony held for a pair of giant pandas from China, Cai Tao and Hu Chun, at Sukarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Indonesia. Dita Alangkara / AP Photo -
A ground official unloads giant pandas Cai Tao and Hu Chun from a Garuda Indonesia airplane as they arrive at Soekarno-Hatta international airport in Tangerang, Indonesia. Mast Irham / EPA -
Indonesian officer holds two IDs of two giant pandas as they arrive at the Sukarno-Hatta airport in Tangerang, on the outskirt of Jakarta. Boma Sakti / AFP Photo -
A new enclosure for the two giant pandas Cai Tao and Hu Chun, Taman Safari, is seen in West Java, Indonesia. Achmad Ibrahim / AP Photo -
A giant panda on a 10-year loan from China arrives at Soekarno Hatta airport in Tangerang, Indonesia. Beawiharta / Reuters -
Male giant panda Cai Tao sits inside a cage as he arrives at Soekarno-Hatta international airport in Tangerang, Indonesia. Mast Irham / EPA -
Indonesian students look at a male giant panda from China, named Cai Tao, in a cage upon arrival at Taman Safari in Bogor, Indonesia. Achmad Ibrahim / AP Photo -
Indonesian students cheer a truck carrying a male giant panda from China, named Cai Tao, during a welcome ceremony at Taman Safari in Bogor, Indonesia. Achmad Ibrahim / AP Photo
China has been sending their black and white ambassadors abroad in a sign of goodwill since the 1950s as part of what is known as "panda diplomacy".
Cai Tao and Hu Chun arrive at a time of generally good ties between Jakarta and Beijing, although there have been some strains in the relationship.
In July, Indonesia renamed the northern reaches of its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea as the North Natuna Sea. China’s foreign ministry said the renaming was "meaningless" and called for countries to maintain peace in the region.
Indonesia's Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya said joining China's giant panda breeding loan programme "shows that the international community, in this case China, is confident with the conservation management efforts of Indonesia."
The pair of seven-year-old pandas are expected to go on public display in late October or early November.
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