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Showing posts from January, 2018

Pandas and Magic Cups: Comparing modern Chinese and twelfth century English diplomacy

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Pandas, famous for their lacklustre love-making and poor wrestling careers, have more often been the subject of hilarious internet videos than discussions of international relations. However, over the last 50 years these bears having been living a double life: sometimes looking cute for the cameras, and at other times influencing the geo-political landscape. And no, they haven't been secretly negotiating the cage match we're all dying to see ... Since 1965, when the Chinese leader Mao Zedong sent Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev a panda as a present (I suppose because iTunes vouchers hadn’t been invented yet?), pandas have held an important position in China’s foreign policy. See Theresa, there’s a better option than Boris for Foreign Secretary! In recent years, China has sent pandas to countries it has established new trade relations with. For example, in 2011 China was looking for a new trade partner to import salmon from after Norway, their previou