Some random cuteness to cap a good week: Some other good news for DC: Since China first sent giant pandas to the National Zoo following the normalizing of ties with the U.S. in 1972, the iconic bears have been a sign of friendship between the two nations. But the number of giant pandas at U.S. zoos has dwindled as tensions between Washington and Beijing rose in recent years. D.C.’s last three pandas — Tian Tian, Mei Xiang, and their cub, Xiao Qi Ji — returned to China in November per the terms of the zoo’s loan agreement with the Chinese government. A return was uncertain. Now, the many new bears China has pledged to send to the U.S. in recent months are a promising sign for “panda diplomacy.” Diplomatic goodwill was on full display during the National Zoo announcement, where Chinese ambassador Xie Feng dubbed the duo “our new envoys of friendship.” 🼠Meet the pandas: Bao Li is a 2-year-old male and the son of Bao Bao, the female panda born at the zoo in 2013, and the grandson of Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, the two pandas who left the zoo last year. He’ll be joined by Qing Bao, a 2-year-old female. Bao Li and Qing Bao were chosen for their promising genetic match. But there’s no rush to reproduce. “We’ll have a few years just to enjoy these two, and then people can start asking about cubs,” Smith tells Axios. The average age for cub-bearing starts between 5 and 7. Reproduction is still important, but it isn’t…