China-US relations: in turbulent times a Miracle baby panda is bringing nations together, says ambassador

Three-month-old giant panda cub in Washington is lauded by Chinese envoy to the US as an uplifting presence during the pandemic

Official naming comes after a five-day online poll that drew nearly 135,000 voters, a sign of the panda’s life in the public eye

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Giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji is pictured at the Washington zoo this month. Photo: Smithsonian’s National Zoo

Published: 8:30pm, 25 Nov 2020Updated: 8:30pm, 25 Nov 2020

A three-month-old panda cub newly dubbed “Miracle” was helping bring the people of China and the United States together, said the Chinese ambassador to the US, Cui Tiankai.

The panda was born at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington and has been officially named Xiao Qi Ji, which is Mandarin for “Little Miracle”.

In a short video posted on Cui’s official Twitter account on Tuesday, the Chinese ambassador called the baby panda “a true miracle” that had been “uplifting to all of us” during the pandemic.

“Both our American friends and people back in China are caring about him … We are connected again with the growth of our little ambassador,” Cui said in the minute-long video.

The panda cub’s name Xiao Qi Ji translates to Little Miracle in English. Photo: Smithsonian’s National Zoo via Xinhua

The cub was born in August to mother Mei Xiang and father Tian Tian. The pair was sent from China to the US in 2000.

Xiao Qi Ji has had an early start in public relations. His birth was live-streamed and his growth over the three months has been viewed by over 1 million people through the zoo’s live-stream camera.