Watch: Twin panda cubs born out of China-France 'amity' take first steps in Paris

Two panda cubs make first public appearance in Paris. The parents of the duo were loaned to France by China to highlight 'good ties' between the two countries.

Saint-Aignan (France):Two panda cubs representing amicable ties between France and China made their first public appearance on December 11 at the Beauval Zoo in Saint-Aignan, south of Paris.

The four-month-old babies Huanlili and Yuandudu were born to Huan Huan and Yuan Zi, mother and father, on a 10-year loan from China to highlight good ties with France.

The female twins are their second and third cubs after the first panda ever born in France, Yuan Meng, in 2017.

French football star Kylian Mbappe and Chinese Olympic Champion diver Zhang Jiaqi became godparents of the two baby pandas, revealing their names during a ceremony on 18 November.

The cubs will spend a few years in France before being sent to China, the zoo said.

There are about 1,800 pandas in the wild in China and about 500 in captivity worldwide.

China for decades gifted friendly nations with its unofficial national mascot in what was known as "panda diplomacy."

More recently the country has loaned pandas to zoos on commercial terms.

(AP)