During my recent visits to Centaurus, I was ecstatic to witness how the Chinese were just as much to be seen as the locals there. It seemed to me how with the Baluchis, the Pakhtoons, the Gilgitis, the Sindhis and the Punjabis, the Chinese have also become a part of Pakistan’s national population (no wonder the latest census showed such a stark increase in our population). This is primarily due to CPEC and China’s new economic ventures. China has been notoriously good at deploying new ways of diplomatic strategies. One of its most peculiar schemes has got to be Panda Diplomacy: the act of loaning pandas to other countries as an way of reinforcing international relationships. As the logo of WWF itself and arguably the most famous species on the endangered list, the Giant Panda Bear is naturally found only in China. This automatically results in all the Panda bears ‘belonging’ to it. In the second half of the twentieth century, the Chinese Government starting using this as a tool for strengthening ties with other countries. Currently, the United States has 12 pandas with each panda bringing in $1 million/panda every year for the Chinese government. We desis might marry off our children to candidates that help in expanding our businesses, but our neighbour has found a good alternative for that. A panda was exchanged between the Scottish and Chinese when China inked a deal with Scotland, making Scotland their major Salmon providers. But what the Chinese can give, they take away too, with incidents of the Chinese demanding their pandas back in the event of a disagreement with other countries, just as the ambassadors are recalled or economic sanctions are imposed.
Although this practice is criticised for being more about commerce than conservation, the Chinese have devised an ingenious way of supporting their ties with the inner circle of countries.
Although the panda diplomacy might seem unrelated to a country like Pakistan, but it plays as a good metaphor for how humans need an ulterior motive for every deed, good or bad, they commit. Sometimes that objective is divine reward; sometimes it is better diplomatic ties. But irrespective of the cause, who wouldn’t want cute pandas?
Source Cover Image: www.xinhuanet.com
