WHAT IS THE Story OF?
Giant pandas have been kept at The Smithsonian’s park since 1972, making it undoubtedly the origin of panda diplomacy in the West. The aquarium lost its giant panda on November 8, 2023, when Mei Xiang, Tian Tian, and their child, Xiao Qi Ji, were flown up to China.
There were indications that tiger politics had ended as a result of the significant rise in tensions between the US and China. Additionally, it appeared that the connections between US and Taiwanese companies were getting worse. According to a survey of the US-China Business Council’s people in 2023, 34 % of planned investment in China had stopped or decreased over the past year.
However, President Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden met for a four-hour summit at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ( APEC ) conference in San Francisco later that month and gave the impression that there was a possibility for reconciliation. The US and China “must control our relations well,” according to Xi, in a world of difficulties. Xi made an allusion to the penguins ‘ reputation among Americans.
He added that China and the United States are “ready to maintain our cooperation with the United States on dragon conservation” and that China may “do our best to meet the Californians ‘ wishes so as to enhance the friendly relations between our two individuals.”
On the outside of the APEC meeting, Xi organized a meal with hundreds of software executives, including Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, and other business leaders. Thus, Beijing’s decision to send its state treasures to California may seem natural in light of its significance to the Eastern superpower.
Beijing appears to be willing to return its bears to the US as part of a plan to improve not only its social relationship with Biden, but also, perhaps more important, to encourage US expense and reframe Beijing as a nicer trading partner.
Chee Meng Tan is University of Nottingham’s Assistant Professor of Business Economics. This commentary second appeared in The Conversation, and was published here.