Japan stated good-bye to its closing two massive pandas on January 27, as twins Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei had been returned from their host nation to China. Their departure has left Japan with none pandas for the primary time since 1972, when Tokyo and Beijing normalised diplomatic ties.
The Chinese language executive has lengthy pursued a method of giving or loaning massive pandas, that are discovered solely in China, to different international locations to make stronger world ties and spice up its world symbol. Extensively referred to as “panda diplomacy”, this tradition has observed greater than 30 pandas despatched to – or born in – Japan over the last 50 or so years.
On the other hand, members of the family between Tokyo and Beijing are these days irritating. Feedback made in November by way of Japan’s top minister, Sanae Takaichi, that her nation may reply militarily to a Chinese language assault on Taiwan caused an indignant reaction from officers in Beijing.
And shortly after, China introduced it could be recalling Japan’s closing two pandas from the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo a month forward of time table. The Tokyo metropolitan executive have been negotiating with China to increase the pandas’ keep or mortgage new bears of their position. However those talks had been placed on cling and the pandas have therefore been returned.
Guests accumulate to look at Xiao Xiao in November 2025.
Franck Robichon / EPA
Panda international relations
China’s follow of sending pandas to international international locations will also be traced to the seventh century, when Empress Wu Zetian proficient two bears to Japan as a gesture of goodwill. On the other hand, trendy panda international relations is continuously related to the Seventies. That decade noticed China open up and reward pandas to numerous primary economies in an try to construct ties, together with america and Japan in 1972, France in 1973 and the United Kingdom in 1974.
Because of declining wild panda populations, China stopped gifting pandas to different international locations by way of 1984. Pandas had been as a substitute despatched to international zoos on long-term loans, continuously lasting as much as 15 years, with international locations paying up to US$1 million (£738,000) in “conservation fees” in step with yr to stay them.
By means of the height of panda international relations in 2019, a complete of 21 international locations or territories outdoor of China, Macau and Hong Kong had pandas. Those had been South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Qatar, Russia, Taiwan, Germany, Spain, Austria, Denmark, Belgium, Mexico, Australia, Thailand, Finland, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, US and UK. That quantity has now dropped to 16.
One explanation why for this decline is that China must be cautious about which international locations it chooses to have interaction in panda international relations with. Many Chinese language other people regard the large panda as a countrywide treasure, with the animal sporting deep emotional importance. On account of their standing, the perceived mistreatment of pandas in a foreign country may cause Beijing to obtain intense backlash from nationalist circles at house.
As an example, when panda Le Le died of herbal reasons at Memphis Zoo in america in 2023 and footage of his feminine better half Ya Ya taking a look skinny and sickly surfaced on-line, hypothesis arose on Chinese language social media that america had mishandled the pandas. Some went so far as to accuse Chinese language government of colluding with the zoo to hide up the incident.
For lots of of those other people, the alleged mistreatment of the pandas was once symbolic of what they noticed as america’s bullying of China. As one remark at the Weibo Chinese language social media platform put it: “Treating our national treasure with such an attitude is an outright provocation of China”. In spite of insistence by way of the Chinese language international ministry that each pandas have been “well taken care of” in america, Ya Ya’s keep was once no longer prolonged.
The will to keep away from extra public backlash would possibly assist provide an explanation for why China recalled Japan’s closing two pandas early and didn’t prolong their keep. With tensions between China and Japan working prime, it could had been tough for officers in Beijing to justify why those loved nationwide symbols must keep within the palms of what many Chinese language other people see as a belligerent rival.
Other folks accumulate on the Ueno Zoo to bid farewell to large pandas Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei on January 27.
Soichiro Koriyama / EPA
Panda international relations stays an efficient instrument of soppy energy for China. This was once demonstrated by way of the 178,000 guests that flocked to Ueno Zoo to catch a glimpse of Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei within the month after it was once introduced they’d be returned. The general public reaction was once so sturdy that the zoo needed to limit customer numbers to the panda viewing house to 4,800 other people in step with day, with each and every consult with restricted to 1 minute.
But there are limits to the use of pandas as diplomatic equipment, and no longer simply because of the energy of nationalist feeling inside China against them. China’s follow of sending pandas to international international locations has been closely criticised by way of conservationists and animal advocates, who argue the bears are used as pawns in a sport of geopolitical chess.
There also are query marks over whether or not the follow complements conservation. Whilst international zoos that host pandas ship China thousands and thousands of US bucks a yr in conservation charges, the species is these days indexed as “vulnerable” by way of the World Union for Conservation of Nature.
Panda international relations is a mild balancing act. Whilst it will possibly assist make stronger China’s world relationships, it additionally exposes Beijing to public backlash every time its hairy ambassadors change into entangled in political disputes or welfare controversies.
