The panda is quite a specific animal. Her belonging to predators is beyond doubt. However, zoologists had some problems with the systematics of this species. Initially, it was attributed to the raccoon family, but in the sixties of the last century, the species was finally classified as bear-like. Her closest relative is the Andean bear.

At the same time, the panda looks extremely comforting and charming. Her white or slightly yellowish fur decorated with black elements looks beautiful, and her eyes surrounded by black borders make almost everyone feel. These animals are most active at dawn and dusk.

Interestingly, the nice appearance can be a bit confusing, because pandas do not specialize in socialization, they spend most of their lives outside the mating season in solitude.

Panda diplomacy is China’s use of giant pandas as diplomatic gifts to other countries. This practice dates back to the Tang Dynasty in the seventh century, when Empress Wu Zetian sent a pair of pandas as a gift to the Emperor of Japan.

Since then, the Middle Kingdom has sent pandas to zoos around the world, most often with a clear strategic intention, such as establishing diplomatic relations, warming relations, or gaining the favor of the citizens of the recipient country. Anyway:

During his trip to China, U.S. President Richard Nixon negotiated the loan of two pandas to the Washington Zoo. Officially, pandas were only borrowed, but they lived to see their days in the American capital.

In 2005, the Chinese government itself proposed to lend a pair of pandas to the newly elected government of Taiwan in order to warm up relations.

In 2011, the mayor of Sendau, Japan, asked China to lend a pair of pandas to the Sendai Zoo to lift the spirits of the small residents of the earthquake-ravaged city.

Panda diplomacy is seen as a form of „soft power.” This concept can be interpreted as the ability to get from others what one wants, not through force, coercion or pressure, but thanks to diplomatic efforts supported by an interesting ideological, cultural or, as in the above cases, even zoological offer.

China makes excellent use of one of its national symbols. They use pandas to:

• as it were, to tame other countries,
• inspire mutual contacts,
• build understanding,
• dynamize relationships,
• strengthen economic ties
• and, as a result, increase the importance and prestige of your country in the international arena.

Any loan or return of a pet, which has clear, political intentions, is met with great favor of the recipient. Residents of the cities where pandas go are usually charmed by the arriving pets. The mass media make a „free show” and a huge advertisement for the whole enterprise.

Panda diplomacy shows the benefits that can be achieved in negotiation processes (here international negotiations) through the use of non-standard methods and unique assets.

Source: https://poradniknegocjatora.pl/dyplomacja-pandy/

Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.