[Correspondent Diary] The Difference Between American Panda and Japanese Panda

Chinese State Media Emphasizes 'Friendship with Japan' on Japan's Baby Panda Birth
Focuses on 'Panda Family Return' for US Baby Panda Birth

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] The 'Giant Panda (Panda)' is a bear species that inhabits only the Sichuan Province area of China. It is an animal symbolizing China and a vulnerable endangered species with about 2,000 left worldwide.

China often uses the endangered panda, listed as a World Natural Heritage, as a diplomatic envoy. Thanks to its cute and peaceful appearance, it symbolizes friendship.

There are records that pandas have served as diplomats since the Tang Dynasty. The panda's role as a full-fledged diplomatic envoy began in 1941. The first case was when the Chinese Kuomintang government under Chiang Kai-shek sent a panda to the United States as a token of gratitude for aid.

Since then, the Chinese government has sent pandas to countries with which it newly established diplomatic relations or needed friendly ties (since 1983, under the Washington Convention, which prohibits selling or gifting rare animals, pandas have been given on a lease basis). This is why the term 'panda diplomacy' emerged.

Baby panda 'Xiao Qiji' born at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington DC, USA (Photo source: Screenshot from the Smithsonian National Zoo website)

Two articles proving that pandas are indeed used in diplomacy were published on the same day by the same media outlet.

On the 24th, when Wang Yi, China's Foreign Minister, visited Japan, the Chinese state-run Global Times published an article titled "Panda born in Japan proves friendship between China and Japan." It reported that a male panda was born on the 22nd at Adventure World in Shirahama-cho, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. The article included congratulations from a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson who said, "The baby panda born during the widespread COVID-19 pandemic brings joy to the Japanese people and will become a key figure in China-Japan friendship."

Six hours before reporting the panda's birth in Japan, the Global Times published an article titled "Chinese netizens urge the return of the panda family at a U.S. zoo."

The article stated that a panda born three months ago at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C., was named Xiao Qi Ji. About 135,000 people participated in the naming vote, and the name Xiao Qi Ji, meaning "little miracle," was selected.

It further reported that Xiao Qi Ji was born through artificial insemination between a 22-year-old female named Mei Xiang and a 23-year-old male named Tian Tian. It introduced that the average lifespan of wild pandas is 15 to 20 years.

China gifted Mei Xiang and Tian Tian to the United States in 2000, and the lease contract was extended twice in 2010 and 2015, the article added.

The Global Times emphasized Chinese netizens' reactions that Mei Xiang's birth through artificial insemination violated the "laws of nature" and their opinions that the Mei Xiang family should now return to China.

At the end of the article, the Global Times briefly mentioned a post by Cui Tiankai, the Chinese Ambassador to the U.S., on his personal Twitter on the 25th (local time). Ambassador Cui wrote, "A true miracle, and the birth of the baby panda gives hope to China and the U.S."

Although both articles on the same day covered the birth of the national treasure-level animal panda, they fully reflect China's perspectives toward the United States and Japan.