Panda diplomacy as a reflection of China’s priorities in her foreign policy

By Kelvin Teo, Guest Columnist

The practice of giving Giant Pandas as diplomatic gifts to other countries has its roots way back in ancient times. For instance, Empress Wu Zetian sent a pair of pandas to the Japanese around 700 A.D.. The practice was revived during Chairman Mao’s era which saw the gifts of 23 pandas to 9 different countries till the early 80s.

The highlight of China’s panda diplomacy was a diplomatic gift exchange between Mao and President Richard Nixon. Nixon responded to Mao’s goodwill gift of two pandas, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, by sending back a pair of musk oxen. Thus, the significance of Nixon’s visit and the diplomatic exchange indicated the emphasis on normalizing sino-US relations as part of China’s foreign policy.

In fact, the Chinese started making diplomatic overtures in its bid to strengthen relations with the United States. The former requested American writer Edgar Snow to pass on the message and invite the American Table Tennis teams to visit China, which signalled its intent to have contact with the Americans in a bid to warm relations with the latter. It didn’t come as a surprise when the Chinese displayed their willingness to play host to a visit by special envoy of the US President, the US Secretary of State or even the President himself. President Nixon’s National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger was to visit Beijing in July 1971 and this laid the groundwork for Nixon’s historic visit.

The practice of giving pandas was stopped just before the mid-80s in favor of 10-years loans. The loan terms included a loan fee of up to more than US$1,000,000 per year (up to more than SGD$100,000 per month).

Two years ago, the Adelaide Zoo of Australia played host to a pair of pandas, Wangwang and Funi. Sino-Australian relation was established in late 70s and since then, both countries have benefitted from their economic and trade connections, which saw two-way trade between both countries reaching USD$5 billion in 1998.

China’s major exports to Australia include an array of products ranging fron clothing, textile products, mechanical and electronic appliances and light industrial products. Australia’s exports to China include iron ore, wool, grain, cotton, wheat and sugar.

China is reportedly the biggest buyer of Australian wool. Both countries are currently negotiating a Free Trade Agreement which commenced on 18 April 2005. The lease of Wangwang and Funi can in some sense be considered part of China’s trade equation with Australia.

In the 80s, China’s modernization gained momentum and thus, the Chinese saw the increasing need to learn modern management methods. The Chinese officials viewed Singapore as one such model country who has achieved economic success, and sent delegates to learn from the tiny city state.

Deng Xiaoping himself said: “Singapore enjoys good social order and is well managed. We should tap on their experience, and learn how to manage better than them.” After rounds of discussions and negotiations, the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park (CS-SIP) was thus born. It wasn’t a coincidence that two pandas made their temporary home at the Singapore Zoological Gardens in 1990 for three months. The loan of the pandas did not come cheap, but what transpired at the CS-SIP turned out to be even more costly. A loss of USD$90 million was incurred over 5 years which led to the Singaporean consortium lowering its stake to 35%.

Ironically, one year after lowering its stake, the park made its first profit of USD$3.8 million. No matter how one spins it, the CS-SIP turned out to be an embarrassment for Singapore’s political leaders. National University of Singapore journalist Alexius A. Pereira attributed this initial failure to the Singapore government’s lack of understanding of the nature of politics in China. They incorrectly assumed that local concerns within a region would be aligned with national concerns.

The collaboration between top level government officials marginalized the Suzhou Municipal Authority who decided to compete directly against the project. Despite the events of CS-SIP, Sino-Singapore relations still remained strong. Both governments agreed to jointly develop an Eco-City in the Tianjin province. Known as the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City, it is expected to house 350,000 residents when fully-developed. That is not the end of the story. Plans are underway to establish another mini Eco-City, the Singapore-Nanjing Eco-city, in collaboration with the Nanjing authorities.

The Chinese offer of two pandas, Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan as gifts to Taiwan was an exception to its policy of loaning pandas. The idea of the panda gift was mooted when the-then opposition Pan-Blue coalition of Taiwan visited mainland China. Pan-Blue adopted a comparatively pro-unification stance;the names of both pandas epitomized Beijing’s stand on unification.

Together, the names of both pandas produces tuan yuan, which means unification. The gift proposal was initially met with resistance, but when Ma Ying-jeou of Kuomintang (Kuomintang is one of the parties in the Pan-Blue coalition) became President, he fostered stronger economic and political relations with mainland China and was willing to accept both pandas. Both have since arrived in Taiwan on December 2008.

Pandas are usually a hit with zoo visitors wherever they go. Captivating to the public eye, they endear themselves to those whom are fortunate enough to see them ‘live’ in their enclosure. Although it is considered an endangered species, it gained a certain degree of immortality in being selected as the symbol of the World Wildlife Fund. For the country outside China that is fortunate enough to display these lovable creatures in its zoos, it can only mean one thing – the major role the nation plays in China’s foreign policy.

About the Author:

Kelvin Teo is a founding writer of the Kent Ridge Common. He is a Life Sciences graduate who considers himself fortunate enough to enjoy a liberal-arts style education, which includes graduate-level training in the field of policy studies. He loves to deal with a wide range of topics ranging from the Life Sciences, sociopolitical issues to the realm of arts and literature.