You You, a panda at the Wolong Giant Panda Research Centre in southwestern Sichuan province, gave birth after IVF treatment in what is believed to be the first successful pregnancy among the species using the frozen sperm technique.
"We did try before but it failed," said Huang Yan, a deputy research technician with the China Panda Preservation Research Centre.
The technique has been tried in other countries but this was the first known instance of a live birth, he said.
The sperm from a male panda, Lolo, had been frozen for "a number of years", said Mr Huang.
Artificial insemination is commonly used for breeding pandas, which have a very low sex drive. In 2006, 34 pandas were born through artificial insemination in China and 30 survived - both record numbers for the endangered species. The technique has also been used at zoos in the United States.
However, using panda sperm that has been frozen earlier - instead of from an immediate donor - had not been successful before.
The technique, if it can be replicated, will be a positive boost for panda conservation efforts. Only about 1,600 pandas live in the wild.
