French football star Mbappe becomes the "godfather" of a baby panda

Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe and Chinese Olympic diving champion Zhang Jiaqi on Thursday became the godparents of two baby pandas born in a French zoo earlier this year.


At a ceremony at the Buffal Zoo, three-month-old twins Yuandudou and Huanlili hugged each other in a specially made movable pod, sometimes trying to stand on their limbs, which they could not yet hold.


Mbappe described the occasion as an "important moment" for him.


The parents of the youngest, Huan Huan and Yuan Zi, came to France on loan from China in 2012. Their arrival was greatly welcomed at the time as a sign of warming diplomatic relations between Paris and Beijing.


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