CHENGDU, China (AP) 鈥� French first lady caught up with an old friend 鈥� 鈥� at the tail end Friday of with President .
At a panda reserve in southwest China that Yuan Meng now calls home, the first lady marveled at how big he has grown. She helped chose his name 鈥� which means 鈥渁ccomplishment of a dream鈥� 鈥� when he was born in a French zoo in 2017.
鈥淲hen they’re born, they’re like this,鈥� she said, holding up two fingers a short distance apart. Meanwhile, the chunky male roamed in his enclosure, feasting on bamboo and ignoring bystanders who cried out his name, hoping to elicit a reaction.
鈥淭hey have a very independent character,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey do only what they want.鈥�
For decades, China has deployed what’s often called 鈥減anda diplomacy鈥� to smooth and promote relations with other countries, gifting the animals to friendly nations and lending pandas to zoos overseas on commercial terms.
Emmanuel Macron鈥檚 state visit this week to China, his fourth as president, included meetings with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and other officials, discussing Russia鈥檚 , trade ties and other issues.
The China Wildlife Conservation Association said during the visit that it signed a letter of intent to send two of the animals to the Beauval Zoo south of Paris in 2027 under what would be a new 10-year round of panda cooperation with France.
The French zoo sent two 17-year-old pandas 鈥� Huan Huan, a female, and her partner Yuan Zi 鈥� last month after 13 years on loan in France.
Yuan Meng was their cub, conceived using artificial insemination.
Despite being made in France, he officially belonged to the Chinese government. Yuan Meng in 2023, sent off to a new life in the in southwest China where Brigitte Macron, considered to be his 鈥済odmother,鈥� dropped in to see him.
Huan Huan and Yuan Zi also produced .
Huanlili and Yuandudu are also expected to leave the Beauval Zoo for China in the future. The China Wildlife Conservation Association has previously said that it expects them to remain at the French zoo until January 2027.
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Ken Moritsugu in Beijing, and John Leicester in Paris, contributed to this report.
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