China's giant pandas Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei arrived safely in Sichuan on Wednesday, China's panda research base said in a social media post, following an emotional goodbye from fans in Tokyo where the pair were born and raised.

CNBC's China reporter Elaine Yu chats with Squawk Box Asia anchors Martin Soong and Chery Kang about the so-called "panda diplomacy", as Japan is due to return two pandas to China amid rising tensions.

Japan's Ueno Zoo is returning the country's last two pandas to China at a time when relationships between the two countries have hit an all time low.