Are panda’s ursine politicians? Well, actually, they’re more like international statesmen. And some Northeastern University experts believe that a pair of Chinese giant pandas that arrived in the U.S. on Sunday are a sign of soothing tensions between Beijing and Washington. “Pandas are an unusually effective diplomatic symbol,” said Xiaoxiao Shen, an assistant research professor at Northeastern who focuses on Chinese international politics. “They are associated with China but aren’t controversial.”
It’s called “soft diplomacy”, said Daniel Aldrich, a Northeastern University professor who teaches political science, describing a diplomatic tool used to show good will to other nations. Typically it is done by giving food, medicine, other aid – or in this case, pandas – to help inspire people in foreign countries to feel more favorable to your nation, he said. “China wants to see happy headlines about pandas and not the abuse of the Uyghurs,” a minority population in China, Aldrich said.
