An Asian rhino eats grass at the Shanghai Wild Animal Park on Wednesday. Photo: courtesy of State Forestry and Grassland Administration (Photo: CGTN)

China and Nepal will conduct joint research to protect endangered one-horned Asiatic rhinos, the Chinese authority announced on Wednesday.

The two pairs of rhinos Nepal gave to China represent the Nepalese people's deep affection for Chinese people and the project to protect the rhinos will be the embodiment of friendship between China and Nepal, said Li Chunliang, deputy administrator of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration (SFGA), during the launch of the China-Nepal Rhinoceros Conservation Collaborative Research in Shanghai on Wednesday.

The rhinos will be used for scientific research and will be displayed, he said.

The Nepal government gave China two pairs of rhinos after the two countries signed a memorandum in June. 

The rhinos, an 800-kilogram male and a 600-kilogram female, were placed in the Shanghai Wild Animal Park and are now under quarantine, according to an SFGA statement sent to the Global Times on Wednesday.

They eat 60 kilograms of food every day, including fresh grass and fruits. 

Another pair, Bhadra (male) and Rupasi (female), was brought to the Chimelong Safari Park in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province. 

Nepal's Ambassador to China Leela Mani Paudyal also said at the launch that exhibiting these one-horned Asiatic rhinos will raise public awareness of the need to protect the animal. 

He believes cooperation with China will better preserve the endangered species. 

The one-horned Asiatic rhino disappeared in China in the early 20th century, and are only found in the wild in a few Asian countries, including Nepal, SFGA said.

The Chinese government has always been committed to saving endangered species such as the giant panda and Manchurian tiger, Li said.