The war in Ukraine, Taiwan, the technological and commercial rivalry and now ‘Ya Ya’. A 22-year-old panda bear veteran sent U.S.-China relations into freefall this week. The animal was loaned to the Memphis Zoo in 2003 as a symbol of good relations between the two superpowers and has now been returned to Beijing after repeated complaints from Xi Jinping’s government and a wave of civic dissension at the Asian giant over its battered appearance. conflict could seem an anecdote in the tense confrontation between the two countries. But it’s not like that. China has practiced so-called “panda diplomacy” since Imperial times before AD 900. The practice was formalized after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and intensified from 1980 onwards. The bears, always on loan, have served the country to to seal political, friendship or trade relations. And that culture is the one that is now offended. Or as Xu Liang, a professor of international relations at Peking University, points out in the “Global Times,” it’s a “demonization” of an old custom that shows how the West feels “the need to suppress China.” In context, 2,500 is the estimated number of specimens currently in existence in China, of which about 1,900 live in freedom. The population has increased fivefold in twenty years. A tender look in exchange for uranium By lending pandas to Canada, France and Australia, Beijing was able to acquire uranium and develop its own nuclear industry. 2016 was the year this plantigrade went from endangered to vulnerable, thanks in large part to these diplomatic deals. “There’s no denying that pandas have always had a mission to promote peace and friendship,” recalled Xu. Commands have always gone beyond symbolism. Animals are not gifts, but a sign of respect and appreciation. Your loan also serves to establish international cooperation agreements aimed at the survival of an endangered breed; a program that would otherwise be very difficult for a single nation to develop due to its high cost. At the age of two, ‘Ya Ya’ was sent to the United States. Washington and Beijing lived a time of understanding, with an interesting framework of economic agreements signed by US support for the Asian power’s entry into the International Trade Organization. Although this wasn’t the first intercontinental panda, the two governments have had a common program since 1972, when China gave then-President Richard Nixon some bears after a historic encounter with Mao Zedong that broke two decades of mutual isolation. From that triumphant moment of international politics, “Bao Bao” remains today the grandson of those pandas named “Ling-Ling” and “Hsing-Hsing”, who now live in Beijing Zoo. The protocol means that the descendants of each loaned couple belong to China. The photos of the alarm The Asian giant has exercised this diplomacy with 64 copies in the past half century and, paradoxically, most of the recipients are current Beijing rivals, verifying that they have all lived through the good old days unity: the USA, Japan and even Taiwan, which was honored with two pandas in 2008 after the bilateral unblocking of economic relations. However, the good-natured mammal, traditionally associated with good vibes and best wishes for peace, has not survived the post-pandemic world conflict, nor the ongoing clashes between the two superpowers due to their economic rivalry, US support for Taiwanese territory, which are the Asian giant domain, and existing discontent in Washington over Beijing’s lukewarmness in condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The adult bear image has deteriorated as much as the current photo of Joe Biden and Xi Jinping. Shared care, friendship and loyalty The panda symbolizes intelligence, balance, vulnerability, friendship and good feelings. One of the guiding beliefs of “panda diplomacy” is that shared care for these bears between two countries strengthens their ties and consolidates “guanxi,” long-standing mutual political and commercial relationships characterized by trust and loyalty. When he landed in Memphis in 2003, hundreds of Americans flocked to the airport to greet “Ya Ya.” The very young bear cub with a tender look and the American flag waving next to her. The perfect metaphor. She arrived accompanied by ‘Ye Ye’, her male partner. But ‘Ye Ye’ will not return to China alive. He died of a heart attack in February, prompting Chinese experts and environmentalists to suspect that the two animals lived in severely neglected conditions, which the US zoo has vehemently denied. The bear’s corpse has been repatriated to study the aging process in this species. The pair should have been returned by the end of this year as the loan lasted two decades, but Asian caretakers pushed for the return to be brought forward as early as January. Several photos, many posted by tourists on social networks, show “Ya Ya” extremely thin and with bald spots in her once massive black and white fur. Asian experts strongly recommended placing the specimen in their care. Today, it resides in a facility in Shanghai, where it will pass mandatory quarantine before being transferred to the capital’s zoo. The unrest in China has been capital. Thousands of citizens have demanded the return of ‘Ya Ya’, resentment has been fueled intensely in nationalism, and political articles have even appeared linking the bear’s plight to the deterioration of bilateral relations between the two powers. Some of this criticism is perceived by US analysts as a tactic to promote “American sentiment” and even the State Department has brought this up to underline that. “China is willing to continue protecting endangered animals in projects with other countries, including the US,” spokeswoman Mao Ning said. Professor Xu believes public concern is “completely normal” because “‘Ya Ya’ is one of us.” The anticipation was great. The digital campaigns to demand his return have had 340 million followers, the video shot in Memphis while boarding the plane has been viewed 130 million times, and tweets before landing are about 520 million. All this apart from the plucky defenders of the panda who have gone out in disguise to, rather, play the bear.
Source: La Verdad
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