Reading the tea leaves of China’s panda diplomacy

A deal was signed between San Diego Zoo and China’s Wildlife Conservation Association in February 2024 that paved the way for Chinese giant pandas to return to the US by the end of the summer.

But this is far more than just a deal between two zoos. It suggests a warming of relations between the US and China, and a bid by China to help repair its struggling economy.

For decades, China has used panda diplomacy, where Beijing gave or loaned its pandas as a sign of friendship or to strengthen national ties, to establish a good long-term relationship with other countries. However, in 2023, when China withdrew its giant pandas from the Smithsonian Zoo in Washington DC, this seemed to symbolize how rocky the China-US relationship had become.

Two pandas were given as a gift to the US after President Richard Nixon visited China in 1972, and this was seen as a major breakthrough in modern US-China relations. From the 1990s onwards panda diplomacy was transformed into a long-term program involving conservation and scientific study.

Panda diplomacy is part of what is called “soft power”, how nations use their culture or heritage to influence another country’s foreign policy. Pandas are soft and cuddly, and have what it takes to win hearts and minds. So, the pandas became part of an attractive part of China’s international image.

By sending these pandas to the US, Beijing intends to woo the American public, but also more specifically, California, the home of the US technology industry.

One reason for this is that Beijing needs to jump-start its ailing economy. Foreign investment in China was lackluster in 2022. But between July and September 2023 things got a lot worse, as foreign direct investment leaving the country outweighed that