CHENGDU, March 22 -- A giant panda breeding center in southwest China's Sichuan Province received a donation of 50,000 U.S. dollars from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Tuesday.

Yu Zaiqing, vice president of the IOC, attended the donation ceremony in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, home to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.

Both pandas and Olympics bear the meaning of peace and amity, said Zhang Zhihe, director of the base. In February, the IOC President Thomas Bach named a pair of panda cub twins "Olympia" and "Fuwa" in the base, Zhang added.

The donation will be used in the breeding and protection of giant pandas in the base, according to Zhang.