Imagine you are the leader of a country. How do you improve your international reputation? How do you make friends and gain influence?
Countries around the world have tried a lot of creative approaches, but perhaps my favourite approach is Panda Diplomacy!
What is Panda Diplomacy? How did it start? And is it ending? Letโs discuss today!
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Vocabulary
- Diplomacy (Noun):The conduct of international relations and negotiations between countries to maintain peaceful and productive relationships.
- The country is trying to use diplomacy to improve its international reputation.
- Soft Power (Noun):The use of attraction and persuasion to influence others, as opposed to coercion.
- The UKโs investment in English language education is an effective use of soft power.
- Coercion (Noun):The practice of persuading someone to do something by using force or threats.
- The diplomatic community condemned the use of coercion in the negotiations.
- Lease (Verb): To allow, temporarily, the use of something in exchange for payment.
- The zoo leased two pandas from China.
- Goodwill (Noun):A friendly and cooperative attitude or disposition.
- The exchange of gifts between countries was a symbol of goodwill.
- Ambassadors (Noun):Diplomats representing their country and promoting its interests abroad.
- The ambassadors played a crucial role in facilitating communication and building bridges between the two nations.
- Normalization (Noun): The process of improving diplomatic ties between countries.
- The normalization of relations between the neighbouring countries resulted in increased collaboration, economic partnerships, and cultural exchanges.
What is Diplomacy?
Keeping peaceful and productive relationships in our world of many countries, languages, religions, and cultures is obviously a challenge. This is why diplomacy, and diplomats, are so important.
Diplomacy has many different forms. It involves sending groups of representatives to other countries to act as your voice in that country. These are the embassies, consulates, and high commissions found in most capital cities.
Diplomacy also appears in international discussions and negotiations at conferences and meetings. Representatives of countries, regions, and international organisations come together to discuss and negotiate agreements and treaties. They may be discussing the environment and global warming, human rights, migration, or any other international issue.
Diplomacy is also connected with the concept of “soft power,” which involves influencing others through attraction and persuasion rather than coercion.
There are examples of soft power all across the world.
Koreaโs government helps fund K-Pop studios and Korean drama swhich have increased the popularity and cultural power of Korea in recent years.
The British government helps fund the British council which teaches English and organises cultural events in over 100 different countries.
And I studied Chinese in Taiwan thanks to a government scholarship designed to get young people interested in Taiwanese society.
One of the most famous examples of soft power comes from China in the form of Panda Diplomacy!
Panda Diplomacy
Panda diplomacy refers to Chinaโs policy of gifting or leasing pandas to countries as a symbol of goodwill and friendship. Rather than relying solely on traditional political or economic strategies, China turned to the adorable black-and-white bears to strengthen their international relations.
Giant pandas are more than just cute and cuddly creatures. They are considered one of the key symbols of China and the countryโs national animal.
They also hold significant symbolic value, often representing peace and harmony. The choice of pandas in diplomatic exchanges is based in the belief that their gentle nature and charming appearance can help overcome cultural gaps and create positive connections between nations.
For decades, key political decisions or treaties involving China often coincided with the gift or loan of a panda.
Pandas are iconic and wildly popular around the world. I have personally seen the massive lines outside of the zoo in Tokyo to see Japanโs pandas in the months before they were sent back to China. They were incredibly popular โ almost acting like cultural representatives or ambassadors for China while making the zoo a lot of money in visitors and merchandise.
An interesting term I found researching for this episode is pandanomics. In a nutshell, zoos which have pandas are far more successful than zoos without pandas.
Edinburgh zoo in Scotland apparently had 4 million extra visitors and earned ยฃ5 million more in revenue after just two years of hosting pandas.
In Japan, the panda Xiang Xiang was so popular that the entire area of Tokyo surrounding her zoo received an economic boost after her birth, and the platform that hosted a live stream of her enclosure experienced a large rise in stock value due to the panda.
And as China is the only country to have wild populations of pandas, as well as conservation areas and care facilities, they control the supply of these animals to zoos and parks.
If you want a pandaโฆ you need to be on Chinaโs good side.
China is agreeing a new economic or trade deal? A panda will often be involved. A country stops recognising Taiwan as a country and instead only recognises China? They might be given a panda. China wants to improve its reputation in a country? Panda!
Recent Examples of Panda Diplomacy
Let me give you some recent, or kind of recent, examples of Panda diplomacy.
Japan received two pandas after the Chinese leader Hu Jintao visited the country and wanted to promote friendly relationship between the two Asian nations.
Also in 2008, Taiwan accepted pandas after a change in government to the China-friendly Kuomintang party.
In 2018, Finland supported the one-China policy (the idea that there is only one China, meaning that Taiwan should not become independent) and in return they also received two pandas.
In each of these cases, pandas were used by China as a symbol of positive relationships or to reward decisions they agreed with (like Taiwan voting for a pro-China government or Finland supporting the one-China policy).
In fact, after the 2008 earthquake in Chinaโs Sichuan province, around 60 pandas needed to be rehomed. Virtually all of them were gifted to countries that China needed or wanted good relations with. For instance, Australia was gifted pandas and Australia is perhaps Chinaโs most important supplier of heavy metals and rare materials.
I guess an important thing to mention here is that, since the 1980s, China does not โgiftโ pandas anymore. Instead, they lease them to zoos around the world. Usually, the lease is at least 10 years long, any panda cubs born belong to China, and it can cost up to $1 million a year to accept a Panda from China (not including the cost of caring for or feeding the animals).
History of Panda Diplomacy
Panda Diplomacy is not exactly a new or entirely recent phenomena.
The modern tradition of using pandas as a diplomatic tool began during the Second World War. The US had been supporting the Chinese ruling party while under attack by the Japanese, and in return the wife of Chinaโs leader organised for live pandas to be presented as a gift.
However, it is important to point out that this was a very different China to the China you know today. This was the Republic of China, who were defeated in civil war by the communist party and driven into exile on the island of Taiwan.
The communists formed the Peopleโs Republic of China but would continue to use pandas as a diplomatic tool.
One of the most famous instances of Panda Diplomacy came during the 1972 visit to China by US President Richard Nixon. This visit was the first by a US President to the Peopleโs Republic of China and was the key point in the normalisation of relations between the US (and their allies) and the PRC.
In 1949, the Chinese communist party had successfully gained control over mainland China and driven the ruling Kuomintang to the island of Taiwan. However, most western countries still recognised the Kuomintang as the rightful rulers of China.
Nixonโs visit symbolised the change in this policy โ it was an important political event, which also coincided with a lot of cultural diplomacy and exchange.
Mao Zedong, chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, offered to send the United States two pandas during Nixonโs visit. The Pandas were received later that year, millions of visitors travelled to see them in their first year in the US, and this event was widely viewed as a massive diplomatic success for China.
Soon after, the British Prime Minister visited China and also asked for a pandas โ and two were sent to London almost immediately. The UKโs pandas inspired the iconic logo of the World Wildlife Fund!
These early examples of panda diplomacy all involved the gifting of pandas to other countries. Alongside Britain and the US, allies of China including the USSR and North Korea also received gifts, as did the likes of Germany, Japan, France, Mexico, and Spain.
In the 1980s, China decided to stop giving away giant pandas. Instead, they moved to a system of loans and leases. Zoos around the world can pay to host a pair of pandas for around 10 years, but China will still own the animal and any children it produces.
The End Of Panda Diplomacy?
Right now, there are around 65 pandas loaned to 19 countries around the world. Despite this, articles have been written in various newspapers claiming that panda diplomacy is over.
Why?
For the first time since the 1970s, the US National Zoo in Washington DC will have no pandas. Tian Tian and Mei Xiang, a panda couple who first arrived in Washington in the year 2000, will return to China in the next few weeks.
And there are no signs that they will be replaced.
Panda leases in Scotland and Australia have also come to an end with no extensions or replacement in recent years. And four of Japanโs pandas finally returned to China earlier this year after delays in their repatriation.
As of now, the future of panda diplomacy appears uncertain, and there are signs that it may be undergoing significant changes.
The trend of not renewing these zooโs leases suggests a potential shift in China’s approach to sharing pandas with Western zoos.
Some people are calling this change in policy “punitive panda diplomacy,” suggesting it is a possible response to diplomatic tensions between China and Western countries, particularly the United States.
The panda recall may be linked to deeper political tensions, such as disagreements between the U.S. and China on issues like sanctions, semiconductor restrictions, drug concerns, and suspicions about Chinese ownership of social media platforms.
If pandas are supposed to be symbols of friendship and cooperation between China and other countries, there seems little point in allowing countries with very anti-China politics to keep the animals.
For example, Britain, Australia, and the US have all lost pandas in recent years and are all countries that have criticised China and restricted Chinese business.
On the other hand, the Middle Eastern nation Qatar (who have been a much better friend to China recently) received two pandas just last year.
This could be a sign that China is now switching its focus to forming friendships and agreements away from Europe and North America.
Moreover, the recall of pandas from zoos could be a strategy for China to renegotiate and plan a new form of panda diplomacy going forward!
The Future of Panda Diplomacy?
This episode was supposed to end hereโฆ but then as I was finishing my research Chinese President Xi took a trip to the United States and met with President Joe Biden.
And in his speech on November 16th, Xi said the following: โWe are ready to continue our cooperation with the United States on panda conservation, and do our best to meet the wishes of the Californians so as to deepen the friendly ties between our two peoples.โ
Could pandas be returning to the west sooner than experts thought? Is panda diplomacy really over? I guess weโll have to wait and see!
Final Thought
Panda Diplomacy, a unique and symbolic form of diplomacy, has played a significant role in China’s diplomatic strategy.
These beloved and iconic creatures have been used to promote goodwill and create positive relationships with other nations.
Over the years, the tradition of gifting pandas has evolved into leasing to zoos across the world, but recent trends suggest a potential shift,
The recall of pandas from Western zoos raises questions about China’s diplomatic intentions amid geopolitical tensions.
Despite speculations about the end of Panda Diplomacy, recent statements from Chinese President Xi hint at a possible revival, leaving the future of this adorable diplomatic practice uncertain.
What do you think? Should Pandas be used as a diplomatic tool?
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