Academic Scientific JournalsPanda diplomacy as China’s caring story – an analysis of the iPanda channel
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26881/prog.2025.17.05Keywords:
panda diplomacy, iPAnda, digital media, ChinaAbstract
The following article analyses the issue of panda diplomacy, as developed by the Chinese authorities on digital platforms, with a focus on the iPanda internet channel. The research aimed to gain insight into one of the contemporary methods of soft power projection used by the Chinese government in digital media.
The article falls within an interdisciplinary field of research, with the main categories being Chinese public cultural diplomacy, of which animal diplomacy is a part. The theoretical section recalls the history of panda diplomacy and contextualises the emergence of digital panda diplomacy. Next, the most important findings of the research into panda diplomacy on digital platforms are presented. As the iPanda internet channel has not been the subject of many scientific studies, it was chosen for critical analysis. Empirical research focuses not on communication strategies, but on the reconstruction of the media image of China as a leader in biodiversity conservation and a nation that promotes unity, care, peace, and cooperation between nations and people.
Content analysis was used for the empirical research carried out as a case study, involving 217 audiovisual materials and 210 photographs published on the iPanda channel.
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