The winner in China’s panda diplomacy: the pandas themselves

Didi Tang, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — China’s panda diplomacy whitethorn person 1 existent winner: nan pandas themselves.

Decades aft Beijing began moving pinch zoos successful nan U.S. and Europe to protect nan species, nan number of elephantine pandas successful nan chaotic has risen to 1,900, up from astir 1,100 successful nan 1980s, and they are nary longer considered “at risk” of extinction but person been fixed nan safer position of “vulnerable.”

Americans tin return immoderate in installments for this accomplishment, because conserving nan type is not purely a Chinese undertaking but a world effort wherever U.S. scientists and researchers person played a captious role.

“We transportation retired technological and investigation practice pinch San Diego Zoo and nan zoo successful Washington successful nan U.S., arsenic good arsenic European countries. They are much precocious successful aspects specified arsenic veterinary medicine, genetics and vaccination, and we study from them,” said Zhang Hemin, main master astatine nan China Conservation and Research Center for nan Giant Panda successful nan southwestern Chinese metropolis of Ya’an.

Zhang said to journalists during a caller government-organized media circuit astatine nan Ya’an Bifengxia Panda Base, location to 66 pandas that lolled astir and chomped connected stalks of bamboo successful a tranquil mounting rich | pinch vegetation.

China’s elephantine panda indebtedness programme has agelong been known arsenic a instrumentality of Beijing’s soft-power diplomacy, but its conservation value could person been an important logic Beijing is renewing its practice pinch U.S. zoos and sending caller pairs of pandas astatine a clip of different sour relations.

A brace of pandas that arrived astatine nan San Diego Zoo successful June will debut to nan nationalist aft respective weeks of acclimation. Another brace will travel to nan Smithsonian’s National Zoo later this year, and a 3rd brace will settee successful nan San Francisco Zoo successful nan adjacent future.

Their arrivals herald a caller information of elephantine panda conservation cooperation, aft nan agreements from nan first information — which began astir 1998 — ended successful caller years. The ongoing difficulties successful nan U.S.-China narration fueled worries Beijing was retreating from sending pandas abroad, but President Xi Jinping successful November dispelled nan worries pinch an announcement during a U.S. sojourn past year.

It is simply a superb move to soften China’s image among Americans but is improbable to alteration U.S. policy, said Barbara K. Bodine, a erstwhile ambassador who is now a professor successful nan believe of diplomacy astatine Georgetown University.

“If they are to task China not arsenic a big, threatening country, they nonstop respective pairs of overstuffed plush toys,” she said. “Pandas are cute, fat and fluffy. They beryllium each time and eat bamboos, past China is benignant of this cuddly and fluffy country. It’s nan champion signaling.”

But “it doesn’t alteration nan governmental chat 1 whit,” Bodine said. “Public diplomacy tin do only truthful much. It does not alteration nan geopolitical, economical calculations. People don’t spell location aft nan zoo to beryllium OK for nan U.S. to beryllium flooded pinch inexpensive EVs (electric vehicles) from nan panda land.”

Conservation, however, is keeping nan 2 sides moving together.

Zhang said location are benefits from sending pandas overseas.

“Pandas temporarily surviving overseas raises humans’ consciousness of preservation, and promotes attraction to our satellite and nan protection of biodiversity,” Zhang said. “Why isn’t it good?”

Zhang said pandas sent overseas person been selected for their bully genes. “They person very precocious hereditary values. If they carnivore offspring, nan cubs besides will person very precocious hereditary values,” he said.

While Western investigation leads successful familial studies, China excels astatine feeding and behavioral training, he said. “It’s mutually complementary,” Zhang said. The eventual goal, researchers say, is to thief nan bears return to nan chaotic and survive, and a larger captive-bred panda organization is nan instauration for that effort.

The first elephantine pandas sent overseas were much gestures of goodwill than conservation pioneers from a Chinese communist authorities seeking to normalize its relations pinch nan West. Beijing gave a brace of pandas — Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing — to nan U.S. pursuing President Richard Nixon’s historical sojourn to China successful 1972 and past different pandas to different countries, including Japan, France, Britain and Germany, complete nan adjacent decade.

When nan panda organization dwindled successful nan 1980s, Beijing stopped gifting pandas but turned to much lucrative short-term leasing past longer-term collaboration pinch overseas zoos connected investigation and breeding.

Under this benignant of caller arrangement, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian arrived astatine nan National Zoo successful 2000, pinch nan eventual extremity of redeeming elephantine pandas successful nan wild. Over nan 23 years Mei Xiang lived successful nan U.S. capital, she gave commencement to 4 surviving cubs: Tai Shan successful 2005, Bao Bao successful 2013, Bei Bei successful 2015, and Xiao Qi Ji successful 2020. All person been returned to China.

Bei Bei, sent to China successful 2019, walked complete to a statement of lined-up bamboo shoots past month, picked 1 up pinch his teeth and sat down to eat it arsenic a cluster of visitors looked connected astatine nan Ya’an Bifengxia Panda Base. Staff described nan astir 9-year-old antheral arsenic sociable.

Smithsonian scientists person been moving to “unravel nan mysteries of panda biology and behavior, gaining important insights into their nutritional needs, reproductive habits and familial diversity,” nan National Zoo says successful its lit connected nan panda program.

Its ecologists person been moving pinch Chinese partners to reconstruct earthy habitats for nan elephantine panda, nan zoo said.

Over nan years, it has raised tens of millions of dollars to tally nan zoo’s panda conservation program, including an yearly interest of $1 cardinal to nan China Wildlife Conservation Association.

“The intent of nan money is stated very intelligibly — it’s technological and investigation costs for nan preservation of chaotic elephantine pandas and their habitats,” Zhang said. “They are very clear astir this. It’s not an income of nan Chinese government.”

Pandas calved overseas tin look a connection obstruction erstwhile they are sent to China, said Li Xiaoyan, nan keeper for Bei Bei and 2 different bears from abroad.

“Some pandas whitethorn accommodate very quickly and easy upon return, while others request a agelong clip to set to a caller environment, particularly quality factors specified arsenic language,” Li said. “Overseas, overseas languages are spoken. In China it’s Chinese that’s used, and moreover Sichuanese and nan Ya’an dialect.”

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AP video shaper Caroline Chen contributed to this study from Ya’an, China.

Animal keeper Nicole MacCorkle holds Bei Bei, nan National Zoo’s newest panda and offspring of Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, for members of nan media astatine nan National Zoo, Dec. 14, 2015, successful Washington. | Andrew Harnik, Associated Press, file