Er Shun and Ji Li have a lot riding on their hunched, furry, five-year-old shoulders.

They’ve never met. They live in separate cities.

Yet they’ve been genetically matched as potential lovers.

And they are soon to have a 10-year honeymoon in Canada as the two giant pandas selected by China to be loaned as a “friendship” gesture.

Theirs is a courtship about to unfold at the Toronto and Calgary zoos, starting in the spring of 2013.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper declared the pandas were an apt symbol of the China-Canada relationship he says has been taken to a new level.

All of this could make it awkward when it comes time to mate during the once-a-year, 48-hour window during which a female bear can become pregnant.

In Toronto, the pair will take over what is currently the 2,000-square-foot home of a Siberian tiger.

While the move will pose few problems for the pandas, as Toronto’s climate is similar to that of their native Sichuan, the zoo’s attempt to breed the animal for the first time on Canadian soil will be a daunting task.