Two Giant Panda cubs born at Beauval Zoo in central France have been officially named Yuan Dudu and Huan Lili at a ceremony on Thursday. Photo: French Embassy in China

Two giant panda cubs born at Beauval Zoo in central France were officially named as Yuan Dudu and Huan Lili at a ceremony on Thursday, a fresh highlight for China-France relations.

The Global Times learnt from French Embassy in China that Thursday was the first public appearance of the two panda cubs and for their official public naming, in the  presence of godparents, Chinese diver Zhang Jiaqi and French football star Kylian Mbappe.

Huan Lili -"Huan" was named after their mother Huan Huan, and "Lili" represents Paris. Yuan Dudu - "Yuan" was named after the dad Yuan Zai and "Dudu" represents Chengdu in Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Born in August, the twins are already over a hundred days old, with their weight growing from 149 grams and 128 grams at birth to nearly 6 kilograms each now.

The elder sister Huan Lili has a longer mouth, fluffy hair, and looks alike to her father "Yuan Zai" while the little sister Yuan Dudu inherits the beauty of her mother. The two panda babies can already crawl freely and will soon learn to walk. In the Pairs' frequent pillow fights, Yuan Dudu tends to always come out on top.

Two Giant Panda cubs born at Beauval Zoo in central France have been officially named Yuan Dudu and Huan Lili at a ceremony on Thursday. Photo: French Embassy in China

At the ceremony, Yu Jinsong, Charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy to France, said that Huan Huan and Yuan Zai have been expanding their family since arrival, thanks to the joint efforts of Beauval Zoo and China's Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. They are symbols of Sino-French friendship.

Yu said giant pandas bear the beautiful vision of "harmonious coexistence between man and nature" and believed that China and France will continue to jointly lead the global biodiversity protection and make greater contributions to building a community of life on earth.

Born on August 2 to Huan Huan, a giant panda that has lived in Beauval Zoo since 2012, the baby pandas have been nicknamed "Little Snow" and "Cotton Flower." Their official Chinese names "Yuan Dudu and Huan Lili" were chosen from a pool of five possible names. 

Each panda has an infant name and a formal name which will be put into the panda pedigree, said Yang Yi, staff of Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, People's Daily reported. 

A giant panda's formal name can be selected from public submissions or decided by official announcement. It can also be given by personnel or organizations for public welfare or follow the usage of the panda's original infant name, Yang explained. 

In 2017, Huan Huan gave birth to twin cubs, the first panda babies born in France. The first cub died shortly after its birth with the second named Yuan Meng.