USSC Briefing Room | The role of panda diplomacy in international relations

5 September 2025

Associate Professor David Smith and Senior Lecturer Minglu Chen discuss the history of panda diplomacy and how it is impacting China's foreign relations.

Podcast by

Associate Professor David Smith

Associate Professor in American Politics and Foreign PolicyUnited States Studies Centre (jointly appointed with the School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney)

Mari Koeck

Director of Engagement and ImpactUnited States Studies Centre

When Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited China this year, his visit to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding got some of the most media attention.

How did pandas become China’s national treasure and how are they used in diplomacy? Could trade wars or heightened competition with China lead to the removal of pandas from the United States or other countries? What role will this “national treasure” play in future international relations?

Associate Professor in American Politics and Foreign Policy at USSC David Smith and Senior Lecturer in Government and International Relations at the University if Sydney Minglu Chen joined the podcast to discuss their recent paper in The Pacific Review titled “Panda diplomacy revisited: state interests and public emotions.”