Taiwan and China split amid civil war in 1949 and Beijing hopes the pandas will strengthen Taiwanese public support for uniting with the mainland.

Taiwan, wary of any gifts from its rival, has not said whether it will accept the animals.

The island's leaders say the panda offer is a propaganda ploy meant to disguise Beijing's hostile intentions toward the island's 23 (m) million people.

The panda pair are currently staying at the Wolong Giant Panda Research Center, in southwestern Sichuan province, where they share a 6,458-square-foot play pen and a bedroom, Xinhua said.

The two one-year-old pandas were chosen from 11 pandas at the Wolong Nature Reserve and will be named in a televised vote on 28 January using suggestions from the Chinese public.

Beijing says there are an estimated 1,590 pandas left in the wild in China and 183 in zoos and breeding centres.