Pandas as Strategic Narratives of Friendship: Relational Public Diplomacy in China-Japan Relations (1972-2023)

When China's giant pandas returned home from Japan in 2023, millions mourned their departure. This study examines panda diplomacy as a strategic narrative of friendship in China-Japan public diplomacy. How does this visual, symbolic practice structure public sense-making of bilateral relations? Using qualitative process tracing, the study explores how panda exchanges generate relational ganqing (collective emotion) and influence diplomatic space across four junctures (1972-2023). The analysis draws on Chinese relational theory, examining concepts of guanxi (relationships) and ganqing (collective emotion) that inform China's diplomatic approach. The study contributes to scholarship on strategic narrative and emotions by examining how animal diplomacy creates affective connections between populations and the way relational grammars operate in a contested environment. The study then identifies four distinct modalities of relational power: acceleration of ties (1972), buffering against security ruptures (2011), lubrication of diplomatic thaws (2017), and relational preservation (2023-2025). Hence, findings show how relational grammars enable emotional narratives to buffer crises and preserve ties in contested environments, with implications for symbolic public diplomacy practice.