A plane carrying giant pandas Xingqiu and Yilan arrives in Adelaide, capital of South Australia, Australia, Dec. 15, 2024. (Photo by Lyu Wei/Xinhua)

　　The arrival of the pandas is an example of the renewed strength of friendship between Australia and China, said South Australia Deputy Premier Susan Close.

　　ADELAIDE, Australia, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Australian officials have welcomed South Australia's new pair of giant pandas, describing their arrival as evidence of the country's strengthening relationship with China.

　　Four-year-old male Xingqiu and three-year-old female Yilan arrived in Adelaide, capital of South Australia (SA), on a flight from China's Sichuan Province on Sunday morning local time, becoming the only giant pandas in the Southern Hemisphere.

　　The pandas will spend the next 10 years at Adelaide Zoo, replacing the previous pair Wangwang and Funi -- who returned to China in November after 15 years in Australia.

　　Hailing the arrival of Xingqiu and Yilan, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, an Adelaide local, said the pandas would bring joy to tourists from across Australia and overseas and provide a boost for SA's tourism sector.

　　The two pandas will spend one month in quarantine before being moved into the Adelaide Zoo's Bamboo Forest enclosure, which has been upgraded in anticipation of their arrival.

　　“I am looking forward to welcoming Xingqiu and Yilan to Adelaide, and visiting the Adelaide Zoo with my daughters early next year, once the pandas are out of quarantine,“ said the Australian foreign minister in a joint media release with the Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell, Deputy SA Premier Susan Close and state Tourism Minister Zoe Bettison.