A Bear-ometer for U.S.-China Relations
Forget human rights, trade, or missile proliferation — the best indicator of the state of U.S.-China relations may be pandas: 1972: President Richard Nixon makes his groundbreaking visit to China. Pandas Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling arrive at Washington’s National Zoo and become its star attraction. 1976: Breeding begins. Male Hsing-Hsing tries to mate with Ling-Ling’s ear, ...
Forget human rights, trade, or missile proliferation -- the best indicator of the state of U.S.-China relations may be pandas:
Forget human rights, trade, or missile proliferation — the best indicator of the state of U.S.-China relations may be pandas:
1972: President Richard Nixon makes his groundbreaking visit to China. Pandas Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling arrive at Washington’s National Zoo and become its star attraction.
1976: Breeding begins. Male Hsing-Hsing tries to mate with Ling-Ling’s ear, then her wrist, and finally her right foot. The following year, the Carter administration begins a similarly confused ritual with China: Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski disagree on how or when to approach Beijing, much less where to fit Taiwan in the new U.S.-China relationship.
1980: The United States and China establish diplomatic relations. Three years later, Ling-Ling gives birth; the cub dies within days. Throughout the 1980s, the pandas mate each spring as the Reagan administration tries to open China up to the West. The results of both efforts fall short of expectations.
1989: The Tiananmen Square massacre freezes U.S.-China relations. Ling-Ling delivers her fifth and final cub. It dies.
1992: Bill Clinton is elected after accusing George Bush of continuing to "coddle aging rulers” in China. A month later, Ling-Ling drops dead of a heart attack.
1996: The Clinton administration allows Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui to visit the United States, sparking a deterioration of relations that culminates in the Taiwan missile crisis. One year later, Hsing-Hsing is diagnosed with testicular cancer.
1998: President Clinton visits Beijing as ties improve. Recovered from cancer, Hsing-Hsing remains one of the zoo’s most popular attractions.
1999: Allegations about Chinese spies at Los Alamos National Laboratory and NATO’s bombing of China’s embassy in Belgrade throw relations into crisis. Hsing-Hsing is diagnosed with kidney disease and put down.
2000: Beijing agrees to loan the National Zoo two pandas. Desperate to win congressional approval for Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) with China, U.S. Commerce Secretary Bill Daley asks if the Chinese can speed delivery of the photogenic pandas. No dice. But shortly after Beijing approves the panda deal, the House of Representatives extends PNTR to China. And on September 19, the Senate voted 83 to 15 to approve PNTR. The new pandas should arrive by the end of the year. Stay tuned.
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