Meanwhile, the giant panda was roaming in its enclosure, feeding on bamboo, and ignoring passersby who shouted its name, hoping to elicit a reaction. For decades, China has employed what is often called 'panda diplomacy' to facilitate and bolster relations with other nations, by gifting the animals to friendly countries and loaning pandas to foreign zoos. Yesterday, France's First Lady, Brigitte Macron, met with an old friend — a giant panda born in France — at the conclusion of a visit to China with President Emmanuel Macron. At a panda reserve in southwest China, which Yuan Meng now calls home, the First Lady marveled at the panda's size. She had helped choose its name — 'Yuan Meng,' meaning 'fulfilling a dream' — when it was born at a French zoo in 2017. 'When they are born, they are this small,' she said, holding two fingers close together.
