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Among the less predictable effects of the European debt crisis is the delay of a crucial Chinese loan to France.

Paris had hoped to get hold of one of Beijing's most valuable resources: not a hefty credit facility, but two giant pandas.

The two governments had planned to finalize the deal last week, French Ecology Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet told Agence France Presse.

But the panda negotiations had to take a back seat to a different type of loan, she said:

"Things were very far advanced. Unfortunately because of the Greek crisis, the sovereign debt crisis, the emergency G20 summit, there was no time for the final discussion between President Hu Jintao and President Sarkozy."

The panda holds such symbolic value for China that all lending arrangements must be approved at the highest level, Kosciusko-Morizet explained.