“Panda diplomacy“ – is a way international relations are realized in China, in the form of presenting the giant pandas, bears as diplomatic gifts to other countries. This practice has its roots in the days of the Tang Dynasty, when Empress Wu Zetian (625-705), the only woman emperor in the history of China, gave a pair of pandas to Japanese emperor.

Panda – is not only a rare animal listed in the Red Book, but also the national symbol of China. Pandas were given to countries with which Chine was expecting “warming of relations.” The method was successful many times. The most famous case occurred in 1972, when U.S. President Richard Nixon and his wife visited China. Premier Wen Zhou Enlai on behalf of the Chinese people presented the valuable gift- two pandas to Americans. Upon the pandas’ arrival in April 1972, First Lady Pat Nixon donated the pandas to the National Zoo in Washington D.C., where she welcomed them in an official ceremony. Over twenty thousand people visited the pandas the first day they were on display, and an estimated 1.1 million visitors came to see them the first year they were in the United States.

Author: Tigran Shadunts

Read the full article in Russian here.