CHENGDU – During a recent trip to China alongside President Emmanuel Macron, France’s first lady, Brigitte Macron, rekindled a special connection with a giant panda that originally hails from France.

The encounter took place at a panda sanctuary in southwest China, the current residence of Yuan Meng. The first lady was amazed at how much the panda had grown since she helped select his name—which translates to “accomplishment of a dream”—following his birth at a French zoo in 2017.

Reflecting on Yuan Meng’s early days, she demonstrated with her fingers the minuscule size of newborn pandas. Meanwhile, the robust panda wandered around his sanctuary, munching on bamboo, seemingly indifferent to onlookers calling out his name in hopes of capturing his attention.

“They possess a rather independent nature,” she remarked. “They follow their own whims.”

For many years, China has engaged in what is known as “panda diplomacy,” using these beloved animals to foster good relations with other nations, either as diplomatic gifts or through loan agreements with international zoos.

This marked Emmanuel Macron’s fourth official visit to China, during which he engaged in discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other dignitaries on pressing matters such as the conflict in Ukraine, trade relations, and additional global 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 — Huan Huan, a female, and her partner Yuan Zi — back to China 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 bid ‘’adieu’’ to France in 2023, sent off to a new life in the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in southwest China where Brigitte Macron, considered to be his “godmother,” dropped in to see him.

Huan Huan and Yuan Zi also produced female twins in France in 2021.

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.