WASHINGTON -- Washington's newest giant panda cub is nameless no more. Call him Bei Bei.
Michelle Obama and her Chinese counterpart, Peng Liyuan, revealed the name Friday during a tour of the panda house at the Smithsonian's National Zoo.
Bei Bei means "precious treasure" and is pronounced "bay bay." It complements his 2-year-old sister's name, Bao Bao.
The first ladies chose the name and untied a pair of yellow scrolls to reveal it in both English and Mandarin Chinese, with help from two third-graders from a Chinese-immersion elementary school in the nation's capital.
The zoo is a favorite of her family, Obama told the audience of American, Chinese and Smithsonian officials.
"My daughter, Malia, has done several internships here and comes here often, even though you don't know it. She is a fan," the first lady said.
Bei Bei, who turns 5 weeks old on Saturday and now weighs about 3 pounds, is the survivor of a pair of twins born Aug. 22 to Mei Xiang. The second cub died four days after its birth.
With the cub, the zoo has four pandas for the first time, including Tian Tian, the father of Bao Bao and Bei Bei. The cub will be sent to China to live after he turns 4.
Peng spoke of the affection Americans have for pandas and quoted Obama for having said the bears serve as a common bond between two countries that disagree sharply on other issues.
"We do need more bonds to bring the people of our two countries ever more closer," Peng said through an interpreter. "And I think giant pandas are exactly one of those bonds that we can celebrate to achieve that goal."
China gave a pair of giant pandas to the National Zoo in 1972 following President Richard Nixon's groundbreaking visit to the Asian country.
Business on 09/26/2015