In 2003, upon arrival from China in the United States, hundreds of people flocked to Memphis International Airport to greet the giant panda Ya Ya.

Then, two years after China’s accession to the US-backed World Trade Organization, the arrival of the hairy black-and-white ambassador of good relations was – in the context of pandas’ famous diplomacy – strengthening good bilateral relations in various sectors, from the economy to the fight against terrorism.

Farewell USA! Giant panda Ya Ya leaves Memphis Zoo to return to China after two decades in the US https://t.co/A3JSUhQkUE pic.twitter.com/G0FQtLiz09

— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) April 26, 2023

Two decades later, as I said goodbye to Memphis as I boarded a flight back to China, a symbol of deteriorating relations between the two superpowersEast and West, a relationship that has reached its apogee in the last fifty years.

I am I who travels with special plane FedEx “panda express” It is expected to land in Shanghai today.

According to CNN, her opinion 22 exhausted bear in recent photos, which are in complete contrast to her “fluffy”, curvaceous appearance in the past, caused Shock and Sadness in Chinaand many believe that the people at the Memphis Zoo did not give her enough attention and care.

I am I, the giant #panda and beloved treasure #Chinafinally comes back to her #Motherland. Numerous fans shared their excitement on Chinese social media. To learn more.
Please feel free to share your best wishes with Ya Ya in the comment box below. #cgtnamerica pic.twitter.com/uifvwjEUQy

— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) April 26, 2023

Ya Ya and her partner Le Le were expected to return to China this year after a 20-year US goodwill loan ended. However, in early February, Le Le died suddenly from heart failure, causing a fire. further animal cruelty scenarios.

As part of China’s “panda diplomacy”, these bears were conceived as ambassadors of friendship between China and the host country. But for the Chinese Nationalists I I was elevated to a shining symbol of what they consider to be American bullying and oppression of China.

“This attitude towards our national treasure is a direct challenge to China,” said one Weibo user.

Tool of diplomacy

For eight decades now, Chinese pandas have been functioning as a kind of foreign policy barometer China.

The female giant panda Ya I left the Memphis Zoo on Wednesday to fly back to China, ending a 20-year stay in the US Mid-South. #GLOBALLink pic.twitter.com/1bB9fR4YXc

— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) April 26, 2023

Beijing is betting on bears with characteristic black circles around their eyes. political tool since 1941whereupon he donated the first pair in Washington, D.C. as a token of gratitude for American assistance against the Japanese invasion.

After the Communist Party came to power, the exchange of pandas was initially limited to only socialist partners -North Korea and the USSR. However, Beijing soon began to open up diplomatically to the world, and everyone became ambassadors of goodwill in the West as well.

Source: CNN