How panda 'ambassadors' gently built trust overseas

Creature comforts

The Qatari government has built a hall for the giant pandas so that they can enjoy air conditioning and sleep in separate quarters. Facilities for medical treatment, food preparation, bamboo preservation and safety monitoring are also in place.

Caretakers look after the pandas around the clock and communicate with them in Mandarin and English. Staff members are also learning the Sichuan dialect to make the pandas "feel at home".

While keeping pandas can be costly for zoos, they are seen as drawcards for visitors and help generate income.

Also, China has strict standards when it comes to selecting foreign zoos for giant panda cooperation projects.

Si Ping, deputy secretary-general of the China Wildlife Conservation Association, said potential partners must have a good reputation and a strong desire for collaboration.

They should have complete facilities, sufficient food sources, a professional feeding and management team, a high-level scientific research team, and the capability for sustainable development, she said.

Only institutions that meet these requirements can be considered for potential cooperation partners, she added.

Emotional connection

Zhang from the CIIS said giant pandas have become an important window for foreigners to better understand China, and enhance their perceptions of it as a friendly country.

"When official exchanges are not always so smooth, panda diplomacy plays a crucial role in continuing cultural interactions between China and other nations," he said.

In San Francisco last November, President Xi announced that China is ready to continue its cooperation with the US on panda conservation to deepen the friendly ties between the people of both countries.

In May, US first lady Jill Biden and the National Zoo in Washington jointly announced that the zoo will be home to two new giant pandas, Bao Li and Qing Bao, by the end of this year. The zoo sent its three pandas back to China in November.

"We can't wait to celebrate this historic moment here in our nation's capital," said the US first lady in an official video released by the zoo.

The US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns on social media welcomed the pandas being sent to Washington, describing them as "iconic symbols of US-China relations since President Nixon's visit a half century ago."

At the zoo's media event on May 29, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng encouraged everyone to care for China-US relations in the same way they care for pandas, and jointly usher in a peaceful and prosperous future.

Chee Meng Tan, an assistant professor at the University of Nottingham Malaysia, said in a commentary that, "Beijing's redeployment of pandas dials up the diplomatic goodwill several notches, signaling Beijing's seriousness in improving links with Washington".

On Thursday, giant pandas Yun Chuan and Xin Bao arrived at the San Diego Zoo in California to start a 10-year international giant panda conservation cooperation.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed visited the Shanghai Wildlife Park in April to observe how panda habitats are set up and run. "Pandas represent a form of diplomacy and pure, fun, excitement and joy," Breed said during the visit.