First ladies of China and US greet 100-day-old panda cub as it is named ‘Bao Bao’

The first ladies of China and the United States delivered greetings to a giant panda cub on Sunday to celebrate the first 100 days of its life, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

Peng Liyuan and Michele Obama’s messages were shown in video clips played at the panda’s naming ceremony held in Washington’s National Zoo.

“The cub is not only a fruit of joint co-operation between scientists of both countries, but also a witness of love and friendship between the nations,” Peng was quoted as saying in the video clip according to Xinhua. “I hope Sino-American friendship is as deep rooted and has a flourishing future,” she added.

Michael Obama thanked China for “sharing the joy brought by the rare animal” since China sent US a pair of giant pandas in 1972, hailing the giant panda as “a symbol of the growing connection between our two countries”, Xinhua reported.

At the ceremony, Washington’s National Zoo named its giant panda cub Bao Bao on Sunday but fans will have to wait a month before they can get their first glimpse of the furry creature.