Panda Diplomacy may sound silly, but we all are aware of its enormous effects on global politics. Panda Diplomacy is a well known Chinese government program involving the sending of Pandas as good-will gifts to other countries. At one point, world leaders might once have felt slighted if they returned from China without at least one panda. Nowadays, the US has two Panda Ambassadors of its own, and this week, President Obama has been informed that these Ambassadors may stay in the Smithsonian National Zoo for five more years. They have even recently offered Pandas to Taiwan: a gestures suggesting possible cooperation between the two.
Though one may see this as an international issue, Panda diplomacy has in fact been a force for change within China as well. It has provided diplomatic ties that have been used by Chinese merchants to have more established markets, essentially guaranteed markets, for Chinese goods. This has aided the expansion of already burgeoning Chinese Economy, indirectly leading to a further expansion of the new Chinese middle class. Additionally, Panda Diplomacy is part of China's current effort to "reimage" itself. As the world globalizes, the need to not be seen as "the bad guy" to the West has become paramount, and has led China to attempt to become (or at least appear) more westernized. In this way, Panda Diplomacy epitomizes China's goals both economically and diplomatically.
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