China, France need to deepen exchanges and mutual understanding: Macron

Also on Friday, Brigitte Macron, the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, visited the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding to see Yuan Meng, the first giant panda ever born in France.

The French first lady, who is also the godmother of Yuan Meng, posed for a photograph with the panda during the visit.

The panda's name Yuan Meng, which literally means "dreams come true" in Chinese, was jointly selected by China and France to represent the wishes for an enduring friendship between the two nations.

The male panda was born in August 2017 to his parents Huan Huan and Yuan Zi, who were sent to Beauval Zoo in central France in 2012 under a 10-year collaborative conservation research project, which was later extended to January 2027.