China Loaning Pandas in Exchange for Precious Resources

[Kibanga Ampiga Mkoloni]

Exports. Imports. Majestically fuzzy bamboo-loving roly-poly panda antics. Tariffs. Which of these is not like the others? According to a growing trend in Chinese economics, none of them.
Giant pandas, cuddly ambassadors and unofficial mascots of China, are factoring heavily in recent trade dealings. It works sort of like this: Everyone loves/wants pandas. China has something of a (very important) monopoly on them. If you’ve got a resource/technology/export that China requires, they’ll trade you pandas as part of the deal! Why can’t the rest of the economic world be that adorably, beautifully simple?

Okay, the reality may be a bit more complex, but pandas are quickly becoming an increasingly prominent part of Chinese international trade. While loaning pandas isn’t an entirely new concept (diplomatic gifting of pandas has been around for quite some time), pandas have played an increasingly important role over the last 30 years of international economic dealings in China.
Scotland, France, Thailand, and Canada are just a few of the countries to receive pandas in recent years, as part of multi-billion dollar exchanges for resources such as uranium and renewable energy technology. Not every country is afforded this panda privilege, however. The decision to gift pandas relies heavily on the Chinese concept of guanxi, a relationship built on respect, loyalty, trust and reciprocity.
Even after the pandas are given, there are still lofty fees and upkeep to consider. Zoos housing them pay a fee of about a million dollars a year per panda pair, usually over the term of a ten-year contract. Any cubs born while in captivity carry an additional 600k per year. These costs are offset somewhat by crowds attracted to the massive appeal and extreme scarcity of pandas (there are only four zoos housing them in the US), but it’s often been the case that zoos are unwilling or unable to renew these pricey contracts. China also reserves the right to recall pandas at their discretion, whether it’s for breeding purposes or over diplomatic disputes.
Despite the costs and complexities of hosting them, demand for pandas remains high. With a substantial portion of contract fees being allocated for conservation efforts and research, this increasing proliferation of pandas could hopefully serve as a catalyst to resurgence in their numbers worldwide. I mean, the only thing better than pandas, really, i

 

[Kibanga Ampiga Mkoloni]

Panda diplomacy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

China Trading Pandas For Uranium To Power Nuclear Reactors

BBC News - China's new phase of panda diplomacy

China swaps pandas for uranium in trade deals - Oct. 14, 2013

WTF: China Is Trading Pandas To Other Countries For Uranium | Elite Daily

 

[Kibanga Ampiga Mkoloni]

[h=2]If you want to get a sense of China's economic priorities, follow the pandas.[/h]Beijing currently has about 50 of the super-cute black and white furballs loaned out to zoos across the world -- and almost all the recent loans have been to countries that have signed major trade and foreign investment deals with China.


It works like this: Agree to export key energytechnology to China; get a panda. Supply Beijing with the uranium it needs to power nuclear reactors; get a panda. Sign a free trade agreement with China; get a panda.
The trading partners even pay China a fee for the pandas, which are a hot item that draw customers to zoos.
"Panda loans are associated with nations supplying China with valuable resources and technology and symbolize China's willingness to build guanxi -- namely, deep trade relationships characterized by trust, reciprocity, loyalty and longevity," according to a recent paper by researchers at Oxford University.
Take Scotland. In early 2011, China negotiated multi-billion dollar agreements with Scotland for the supply of salmon and petrochemical and renewable energy technology. And in return? China loaned a pair of its pandas to the Edinburgh Zoo.
Related story: How China's booming panda business works
What did China get out of the deal? Oil drilling technology, said Oxford University's Kathleen Buckingham. "That's what China is investing in. It's not exactly investing in the U.K. as a whole; it's investing in Scotland for the technology and the resources."
Beijing has also been handing out pandas to countries that supply the uranium needed to reach its ambitious nuclear energy targets.
Canada and France both signed multi-billion dollar uranium export deals that coincided with panda loans to the two countries. Australia -- which holds the world's largest uranium reserves -- received a pair of pandas in 2009 after agreeing to supply uranium to China in 2006.
Other countries with panda loans, such as Singapore and Thailand, have inked free-trade agreements with China. The same goes for Malaysia -- all papers have been signed, and the country will soon receive its first pair of pandas.

 

[kizaizai]

Hii niliiona CNN, Popote pale walipo Panda wote Duniani ni mali ya China.

 

[Kibanga Ampiga Mkoloni]

Hii niliiona CNN, Popote pale walipo Panda wote Duniani ni mali ya China.

Sio mali tu, bali hjupewi bure lazima usahini mkataba kama ule wa baba rz1 na China wa kuwapa makaa ya mawe.

 

[mzalendokweli]

Hao ni Panda mnyama ambae huli hata nyama unamuangalia tuu..na costs za kumtunza ni za juu... Sasa njoo kwa vichwa nazi waulize Gas inatoka kwa makubaliano gani.?

 

[Bavaria]

hao panda ni akina nan? na wanasaidia nini hasa?

 

[snochet]

whatever the case .....its a very good idea for opportunists....ukichunguza kwa makini utagundua kwamba kuna wanyama wengi sana ambao wanapatikana africa tu,lakini wageni wamewabeba na kuwapeleka kwao,na wanapata matunda ya utalii...hata sisi tunaweza tukafanya hivyo kama tunavyohamisha mimea kutoka kwenye bustani zinazopendeza.....mfano mzuri ni Giant Brown bears ambao marekani wanaleta usumbufu sana pale idadi yao inapozidi....wakiwaleta huku wanaweza wakasaidia kuleta kashkash kwenye mbuga,and maybe someday tutapunguza wawindaji haramu kwa kuwaletea "kashkash" waache kutungua tembo wetu,,,,pia it can be ecological beneficial.........mawazo tu!!!