Are Pandas Effective Ambassadors for Promoting Wildlife Conservation and International Diplomacy?

Abstract

The current study drew from emotional contagion and source credibility theories to investigate whether watching differentially sourced panda videos may influence attitudes toward the “brand” image of China. An experiment (N = 245) conducted with a U.S. college student sample showed that perceived source credibility and nature relatedness were positively linked to emotional response toward the video. A non-governmental video source was perceived to be more credible than a governmental video source in influencing attitude toward Chinese culture, emotional response toward the video, and attitude toward wildlife conservation. The latter two variables and nature relatedness likewise positively predicted attitude toward Chinese culture, which in turn had a positive effect on attitude toward Chinese people; attitude toward Chinese people further positively affected attitude toward Chinese government. These findings suggest that panda diplomacy as a soft-power nation-branding device might have been relatively effective in building goodwill toward Chinese culture, people, and government overtime.

1. Introduction

In April 1869, Father Armand David discovered the giant panda (hereafter panda) in China’s Sichuan Province and introduced this rare species to the Europeans [1]. Over the past 150 years, the panda has received adoration from people around the world and became the symbol of the World Wildlife Fund in 1961 [2]. As an umbrella species that confers protection on many other species living in the same habitat, pandas’ implications for environmental sustainability cannot be overestimated; moreover, its cultural specificity also generates sustainable economic benefits through ecotourism [2]. Therefore, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has long been undertaking panda diplomacy to improve China’s image in the international arena [3]. One of CCP’s latest efforts involved the launch of the iPanda channel [4], which live streams activities of the panda conservation sites from Sichuan Province of China.

Notably, iPanda and other Chinese government-funded media organizations (e.g., People’s Daily) also regularly post panda-related content on overseas social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. These efforts reflect CCP’s attempts to target international audiences and influence public opinion towards China with the aid of pandas. Public diplomacy scholars have optimistically anticipated pandas’ role in improving China’s national image, as the country is rising as an international power [5]. However, with ongoing tensions related to bilateral trade and the COVID-19 pandemic between the U.S. and China, a Pew Research poll found only 22% of Americans with a somewhat/very favorable view toward China [6].

Previous research has identified the iPanda website as a persuasive communication tool [4] to help present Chinese efforts to protect pandas and their habitats to the world. What remains unclear is whether international audiences’ love towards the giant panda can translate into a more positive attitude towards China. As of this writing, little theory-driven empirical research has investigated the effectiveness of China’s panda diplomacy. The current study intends to fill this theoretical and empirical gap using an experiment to explore how watching panda videos posted by different media sources may impact American college students’ attitudes towards China. Specifically, emotional contagion theory [7] and source credibility theory [8] were utilized to help explain how emotional response and attitude toward pandas as a wildlife conservation symbol may influence attitudes toward the Chinese government as well as her people and culture.

1.1. Pandas as Wildlife Conservation Symbol and Nation Branding

As wild pandas are only found in China, they could be considered a “specificity” characterized by a beloved but endangered species in the world. Their unique physical appearance—marked by a striking black-and-white coat and round face as well as a cuddly, clumsy, innocent, and childlike quality—helps evoke universal empathy for their preservation [9] and raises awareness of wildlife and environmental sustainability [2]. Hence, pandas’ lovable image affords China certain advantages in promoting normalcy and peacefulness that are favorable propositions shared by its nation branding strategies [10]. Since people from other countries rank the panda as second to the Great Wall in representing China [4], the uniquely appealing pandas have emerged as the best vehicle for China’s nation branding via animal diplomacy [11].

Branding is a marketing strategy that aims at building a positive relationship between a company and its customers [12]. Similarly, nation branding is based upon the assumption that the international community, like consumers, will develop a favorable attitude toward a country after being exposed to likable or admirable aspects of its culture [13]. Nation branding involves using cultural resources to develop positive emotions in information recipients, which then turn into favorable attitudes toward the nation [13]. Anholt [14] suggests that a nation should focus on narrating their specificity to construct its competitive and unique identity.

China’s panda diplomacy has been implemented in many ways, including scientific collaboration [3] and digital marketing [4]. In August 2013, the Chinese government launched CNTV.cn, an online version of China Central Television [15]; CNTV subsequently established iPanda as a website that streams pandas’ lives at multiple panda conservation sites to a global audience. By the end of 2017, iPanda had attracted nearly 13 million followers on Facebook; one of its signature Facebook videos recorded 800 million views [16]. Of iPanda’s Facebook followers, 43.8% are English speakers, and 60% of these English speakers explicitly expressed positive emotions towards pandas in their comments [17].

Given the background of this digital panda diplomacy campaign, the literature review below will discuss the relevant theories and concepts to better explore this phenomenon, which mixes public opinion toward wildlife and the nation-state where the wildlife habitat is located.

1.2. Nature Relatedness, Emotion, and Identity

The biophilia hypothesis [18] suggests that human beings have an innate tendency to approach and contact other living and natural creatures due to their need to survive in the natural world. This tendency is captured by the construct of nature relatedness, which is defined as the extent to which individuals are affectively, cognitively, and physically connected with the natural world [19], including the wilderness, animals, and natural resources that one may observe, experience, or come into contact. People with a higher level of nature-relatedness tend to be more empathetic toward animals [20].

Nature-relatedness could also be significantly related to moods, emotions, and affect through an individual’s exposure to nature [21]. For example, when a just released rescued chimp ran back to hug Dr. Jane Goodall, the story garnered international media coverage and the corresponding video also went viral on the Internet [22]. Even nature videos taken in the local arboretum remained effective in enhancing an individual’s connectedness with and positive emotions toward nature [23]. Hence, an individual’s sense of nature-relatedness could be linked to the emotional response toward the release of animals back into the wild by an animal conservation and/or rehabilitation center [24].

A hypothesis is proposed below to validate the literature on nature-relatedness and human emotions in the current study context, which has utilized a panda conservation video as the source to elicit an emotional response:

H1a: 

Nature-relatedness will be positively related to an emotional response to the panda conservation video.

Notably, nature-relatedness also reflects a social and cultural identity that constitutes people’s sense of self. Roszak [25] argues that if the self is expanded to include the bigger world—including but not limited to the natural world—then behavior that leads to the destruction of the world will be taken as self-destruction as well. Thus, an individual’s innate perspective-taking ability in this domain could lead to a greater self-other representation overlap [26], which could bring about more empathic and altruistic behavior toward others [20].

At the core of nature-relatedness is empathic behavior, defined as “imaginative, intellectual and emotional participation in another person’s experience” [27] (p. 66). As empathy can lead to awareness, understanding, and appreciation of cultural differences without being judgmental, it is a prerequisite for intercultural interaction and subsequent adaptation [28]. As nature-relatedness is connected with empathetic and altruistic behavioral tendency that is fundamental to an individual’s capacity to appreciate and engage in intercultural interaction, it is logical to anticipate that nature-loving individuals will also have a more positive attitude toward a culture that advocates wildlife conservation such as China. To validate this conceptual anticipation, the following hypothesis is posited:

H1b: 

Nature-relatedness will be positively related to attitude toward Chinese culture.

1.3. Emotional Response and Contagion Effect

As nature-relatedness can elicit an individual’s emotional response toward nature [21], it is reasonable to anticipate how such emotional responses could be extended or transferred to the entities or activities that help preserve nature. Such a process can be explained by the theory of emotional contagion, which is defined as “the tendency to automatically mimic and synchronize expressions, vocalizations, postures, and movements with those of another person’s and, consequently, to converge emotionally” [7] (pp. 153–154). The emotional contagion effect can occur when the “entity or essence” of a source transfers to the target and the contagious properties remain as part of the target [29].

For example, receiving satisfaction from playing the Pokemon Go game virtually and the social relations cultivated during gameplaying was found to be linked to an increase in place attachment (e.g., through properties such as monuments, murals, etc.) [30]. Likewise, Wang and Sun’s [31] study suggested that visitors’ affective and intellectual responses to the 2010 Shanghai Expo’s “nation-branding” efforts, which provided immersive cultural experiences through the use of digital technology and live art performances, resulted in higher evaluations of the pavilions they had visited.

While the power of emotion in commercial marketing has been well recognized, the relationship between nation branding and the emotions elicited in the audience by such efforts remains understudied [10]. As stated above, people with higher levels of nature-relatedness are more likely to have “an other-oriented emotional response congruent with the perceived welfare” of wildlife [32] (p. 621). Since this research intends to explore the potential effects of emotional contagion stemming from watching conservation videos about pandas, it is assumed that people’s love for pandas will be extended and hence transferred to a more favorable attitude toward wildlife conservation activities and the Chinese culture that endorses these activities as well. To verify these two theoretical assumptions, we postulate the hypotheses below:

H2a,b: 

Emotional response toward the panda conservation video will be positively related to attitudes toward (a) wildlife conservation and (b) Chinese culture.

When studying American people’s attitudes toward China, researchers and pollsters often conflate the notion of “country” and “people” as one [33]. For example, Pew Research polled Americans by asking them an open-ended question to describe the first things that come to their mind when they think about China; participant responses focused primarily on the Chinese government as a threat to human rights, the United States, the American economy and such, without mentioning anything about China’s people, history, and culture [34]. These findings confirmed past work that reported Americans’ attitudes towards the Chinese government and China, in general, to be positively related to each other [33].

Even so, public perception of a country’s government is not necessarily equivalent to their perception of the country’s culture or people [35]. According to the Common Ingroup Identity Model, individuals could reduce stereotypes and develop an acceptance of out-group members by downplaying the dissimilarities between groups [36]. For instance, being exposed to other cultures from out-group members on Facebook is associated with positive attitudes toward out-groups, including “rival” groups, such as Jews and Arabs in Israel [37]. Similarly, Chinese students who enjoyed their experience at Korean universities showed more support for the Korean government’s decision to deploy Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) [38]. Americans who expressed an interest in Chinese culture also exhibited a lower tendency to negatively evaluate China in terms of dodging its international responsibility [39].

In the current study context, it is assumed that if the emotional contagion effect occurs between the love for pandas to the out-group—Chinese culture (as proposed by H2b)—then a positive association between Chinese culture and Chinese people is also likely. By the same token, a positive affect toward Chinese people may also be transferred to a positive attitude toward the Chinese government. To test these propositions, we hypothesize the following:

H3a: 

Attitude toward Chinese culture will be positively related to attitude toward Chinese people.

H3b: 

Attitude toward Chinese people will be positively related to attitude toward the Chinese government.

1.4. Attitudes toward Wildlife Conservation and China

Prior marketing research has suggested that the introduction of green products by a company can help improve consumer attitude toward the brand [40]. Promoting nation branding with a green image, e.g., wildlife conservation, is more complicated, however. For example, while China is known for its traditional thought system that values living in harmony with nature—including advocating for wildlife sustainability [41]—its social reality is linked to ongoing problems with exploitative and illegal trades of wild animals and their parts, such as elephant ivory [42].

However, the Chinese government has started to improve wildlife conservation and environmental sustainability as measures of performance legitimacy (i.e., their ability to serve the general good) to address the global climate change crisis [43]. To boost its wildlife conservation effort, China has issued a ban on elephant ivory trade [44] and launched a sea turtle rescue initiative [45]. In the case of the giant panda, China declared in 2021 that the species’ wild population has almost doubled since the 1980s and the status of this wildlife conservation symbol has been downgraded from “endangered” to “vulnerable”, owing to 30 years of government-led recovery efforts [46].

As commented by international relations scholars, biodiversity may serve as one of the few environmental issues that China will potentially show its soft power and exert influence on the world stage [47]. Yet, critics have illuminated the tension between protecting pandas for promoting their ecological importance and advancing China’s cultural/political objectives [48]. Beyond the accolades and criticisms associated with China’s success in panda conservation, quantitative research that examines what affects Americans’ attitudes towards China remains lacking [33].

The current study speculates that exposure to panda videos may influence audience attitude toward China, as these pandas serve as one of the most prominent symbols of Chinese culture [4], not unlike the symbolism of a bald eagle to American culture. Schudson’s discussion of the efficacy of symbols communicated in media suggested that the power of a cultural object could be explained by the degree to which it resonates with its audience [49]. The symbolic meaning of the giant pandas in relation to Chinese culture varies. One interpretation suggests that the giant panda’s black and white coloring represents the Chinese philosophical concept of “Yin” and “Yang”, which strives to achieve a balance between opposing forces in nature [50].

Since China’s digital panda diplomacy was launched in 2013, panda videos have been regularly posted on major social media platforms (e.g., Facebook) and serve as a major tool to communicate one of China’s cultural “specificity” symbols [12] to the worldwide audience. As we surmise that attitude toward wildlife conservation may play a role in influencing an individual’s attitude toward China, we expand this assumption to reflect how this attitude could be directed toward Chinese culture, people, and government. Given the lack of literature on the effectiveness of wildlife diplomacy, the following interrogative research questions, instead of declarative hypotheses, will be tested:

RQ1a–c: 

Will attitude toward wildlife conservation be positively related to attitude towards (a) Chinese culture, (b) Chinese people, or (c) Chinese government?

1.5. Source Credibility, Attitude, and Emotional Response

The persuasive effect of a message on individuals can depend on how the audience evaluates the message content [51] and the credibility of the message source [8]. If the message of wildlife conservation or environmental sustainability is utilized as a device to influence public opinion about a country, then it would be important to learn how people may judge the credibility of the source of the message. Source credibility has received extensive attention in marketing communication research, as the source of a marketing message can facilitate attitude change toward a brand [51].

For example, Bi et al. [52] assessed public trust in message sources in relation to a past vaccine scandal and found that a non-governmental source (i.e., journalists and online celebrities) was rated with higher credibility than a Chinese government source when they both appeared on a Chinese social media platform (i.e., Weibo). Sanz-Menéndez and Cruz-Castro [53] conducted a survey experiment study to compare the credibility attributed to the sources that disseminated the information on the evolution of CO₂ emissions in Spain. Their findings suggested that the information provided by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Greenpeace (a non-governmental environmental organization) was considered the most credible, followed by scientific institutions, government, and business organizations.

Moreover, in line with social identity theory, sources that were perceived to be similar to the receiver tended to be rated more attractive and credible, which in turn yielded more confidence in the cause being advocated [54]. Given the generally negative view of the Chinese government among Americans [34], conservation messages sourced from the Chinese government could be perceived as propaganda [38] when compared to a non-government entity such as National Geographic which is a widely respected nonprofit scientific organization (ranked as the 20th most trust brand in the U.S. in 2020) [55]. To confirm this assumption, a hypothesis is postulated below.

H4: 

Perceived message source credibility will be greater for a non-governmental entity than a governmental entity.

If a message source is considered to be a more credible source for promoting a wildlife conservation message, it is logical to assume that such a source will also facilitate a more positive audience attitude toward wildlife conservation and the culture that engages in the conservation efforts. As little research literature has examined the relationships between message source credibility and attitudes toward wildlife conservation related to nation branding, references from marketing campaigns will be provided to support this theoretical assumption. In particular, the recent marketing research literature has suggested that when exposed to messages from a more credible source that elicits low attitude extremity, participants are more likely to show favorable attitudes toward the messages [56] and the brand promoted in those messages [57]. For instance, positively framed messages from a more credible source led individuals to hold the most positive attitudes toward the messages themselves as well as encouraged them to engage in environmentally friendly activities [58]. Other research also found that the perceived credibility of the message source had an influence on the extent to which the introduction of new green products contributed to changing consumer attitudes toward their affiliated brands [40].

To examine the assumption that a more trusted message source for wildlife conservation will also facilitate a more positive attitude toward this related environmental cause and the culture that promotes this cause, two research questions are proposed to explore these relations.

RQ2a,b: 

Will perceived message source credibility be positively related to attitudes toward (a) wildlife conservation and (b) Chinese culture?

The interaction between rational factors and emotional responses related to consumers’ decision-making process has been an important focus of marketing and advertising research [59]. According to dual-process theory [60], when individuals have less capability or motivation to carefully examine a message, they tend to rely on heuristic cues such as emotions and source credibility to evaluate the persuasiveness of an argument. For example, the credibility of social media influencers and celebrities in advertising endorsements is positively associated with the emotional pleasure that consumers experienced from processing the content of the advertisement [61,62].

In addition, Pan [63] found that messages from a nonprofit organization about healthy diets would lead to higher source credibility perceptions and less negative emotional responses than the messages from a corporate source. Along the same line, consumers considered Twitter ads placed by a sportswear brand with high corporate credibility (i.e., Nike) to be less intrusive and tended to be less negative toward such ads than when the ads were placed by a less credible brand (i.e., Fila) [64]. Based on this preliminary evidence, we expected that more positive emotions would be elicited among the audience who watched the panda video from a more credible source (e.g., a non-governmental source) than a less credible source (e.g., a governmental source). Given the paucity of available literature, the following research question will be investigated:

RQ2c: 

Will perceived message source credibility be positively related to the emotional response to the panda conservation video?

2. Method

This study conducted a between-subject experiment online with random assignment. Participants were recruited from college students enrolled in a basic course at a large northeastern university in the U.S., with advance IRB approval. The study sample contained 245 valid responses. This sample included 50.2% males and 49.4% females, with an average age of 19.2. The breakdown of race and ethnicity is as follows: 61.2% White/non-Hispanic, 19.2% Asian, 8.6% Hispanic/White, 4.1% Black/African American, 2.4% Hispanic/Non-White, 3.3% more one race, 0.8% native Americans, and 0.4% Other.

2.1. Procedure and Stimuli

After logging onto the study website, consented participants were randomly assigned to one of the two study conditions (by the system algorithm). Participants first responded to two control variables—consumption of news about China and knowledge about U.S.-China relations—and then the measures gauging their nature-relatedness [19] and demographics. This was followed by reviewing a description about one of the two sources credited for producing the panda conservation video before watching the video itself. After that, participants reported the source of the video and described the video content for attention check. They then responded to items that measured their (1) emotion during video viewing; (2) attitudes toward Chinese culture, Chinese people, and the Chinese government; (3) attitude toward wildlife conservation; and (4) message source credibility.

The study stimuli feature two widely recognized sources for sharing panda videos with the worldwide audience: iPanda and National Geographic. The description of the video source affiliated with each institution contains a mission statement and a prominently displayed institutional logo. Each panda video displays the same content but with either an iPanda or National Geographic logo to indicate the video source; the video runs for 3 min and 19 s. The content of the video shows Chinese scientists and keepers interacting with and caring for panda cubs as well as releasing them back into the wild. The institutional logo affiliated with the video—either the iPanda or National Geographic logo—appears on the upper right corner of the screen for the entire length of the video.

2.2. Attention Check

For attention check, participants were asked to report the source of the video in an open-ended question. Acceptable answers were either iPanda (other acceptable answers included “Chinese TV network” or “Chinese Communist news source”) or National Geographic, according to their respective study condition. Participants were also asked to describe the content of the video using one word; examples of the words provided by participants included panda, cubs, wildlife, and breeding.

The video, which displays the iPanda logo as the source, was watched by 116 participants. By comparison, the video, which presents the National Geographic logo as the source, was viewed by 129 participants. Data cleaning was conducted by removing cases that contained missing data or response errors (i.e., straight-lining their responses), in addition to those cases which failed the attention check due to incorrectly identifying the video source and/or describing the video content. In total, 68 cases were removed and not included in the data analysis.

2.3. Statistical Analysis

Descriptive statistics were computed to report the means and standard deviation of each variable tested in the study. Zero-order correlations were calculated to demonstrate the bivariate relations between all variables. Independent sample t-tests were utilized to discern the differential responses between the two study conditions. An exploratory factor analysis was adopted to confirm the factor structure and Cronbach’s reliability test was utilized to demonstrate the inter-item reliability of each factor. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to examine the measurement validity, and a path analysis was employed to test the interrelations between the variables tested in the proposed conceptual model.

The study’s sample size (N = 245) meets the threshold suggested by Kline [65] for conducting a structural equation modeling analysis, whose minimum sample size should be at least 10 times that of the parameters to be estimated. In the path analysis, the panda video source—iPanda (coded as 0) vs. National Geographic (coded as 1)—and nature-relatedness were entered into the equation as exogenous variables. The path model included six endogenous variables: source credibility, emotional response, attitude toward wildlife conservation, and attitudes toward Chinese culture, Chinese people, and the Chinese government. Paths were initially drawn from condition (i.e., video source) to source credibility, as well as from nature-relatedness to emotional response and attitude toward Chinese culture. Paths were also led from source credibility to emotional response, attitude toward wildlife conservation, and attitude toward Chinese culture—and from the attitude toward wildlife conservation to attitudes toward Chinese culture, Chinese people, and the Chinese government. In addition, emotional response was predicted to have a direct effect on attitude toward wildlife conservation and Chinese culture. Finally, a path was linked from attitude toward Chinese people to attitude toward the Chinese government.

2.4. Measures

Nature-relatedness. The first part of the NR-21 scale [19], which assesses an individual’s internalized identification with nature, was adapted to measure this variable. Respondents were asked to indicate their extent of agreement with statements such as “My connection to wildlife is something that I value”, on a 7-point Likert-type scale (1 = strongly disagree and 7 = strongly agree) (α = 0.94, M = 4.25, SD = 1.49).

Emotional response. The four items of the Discrete Emotions Questionnaire that measure happiness, developed by Harmon-Jones et al. [66], were adopted. Respondents were asked to assess on a 7-point Likert-type scale to what extent they experienced each of the following emotions—including happy, liking, enjoyment, and satisfaction—while watching the video (1 = not at all and 7 = an extreme amount) (α = 0.90, M = 4.84, SD = 1.47).

Attitudes toward Chinese culture and Chinese people. Participants assessed to what extent they agree or disagree with four original items that gauged their attitudes towards Chinese culture, e.g., “Chinese culture, like cultures from other countries, has enriched American society”. (α = 0.81, M = 5.60, SD = 1.17). They also responded to four original items that evaluated their attitudes towards Chinese people, e.g., “Chinese people’s way of life does not pose a threat to the American way of life”. (α = 0.80, M = 3.65, SD = 1.22). All items were measured on a 7-point Likert-type scale (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree).

Attitude toward the Chinese government. Eight measurement items were adapted from Gries and Crowson [33] to evaluate participant attitude toward the Chinese government on a semantic differential scale. These items include: “friendly/unfriendly”, “trustworthy/untrustworthy”, “peaceful/unpeaceful” and “honorable/dishonorable”, “uncooperative/cooperative”, “devious/not devious”, “aggressive/unaggressive” and “dishonest/honest” (α = 0.95, M = 3.55, SD = 1.56).

Attitude toward wildlife conservation. Participants indicated to what extent they agree or disagree with four statements adapted from the Domination Wildlife Value Orientations Scale [67] on a 7-point Likert-type scale (1 = strongly disagree and 7 = strongly agree). Sample items featured beliefs about the sustainable use of wildlife, including “People who want to hunt wildlife should be provided the opportunity to do so” (α = 0.84, M = 5.35, SD = 1.27).

Message source credibility. This variable was assessed by five items adopted from Ohanian [68] on a semantic differential scale. Respondents rated the source of the video they watched as follows: undependable/dependable, dishonest/honest, unreliable/reliable, insincere/sincere, and untrustworthy/trustworthy (α = 0.97, M = 4.93, SD = 1.14).

3. Results

Descriptive statistics and zero-order correlations for all variables are reported in

Table 1. Zero-order correlations and descriptive statistics.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
1 Nature Relatedness	-
2 Emotional Response	0.31 **	-
3 Attitude toward Culture	0.31 **	0.29 **	-
4 Attitude toward People	0.18 *	0.19 **	0.37 **	-
5 Attitude toward Government	−0.004	0.16 *	0.11	0.26 **	-
6 Attitude towards Wildlife	0.09	0.18 **	0.24 **	0.13 *	0.14 *	-
7 Source Credibility	0.15 *	0.19 **	0.25 **	0.15 *	0.08	0.22 **	-
M	4.25	4.84	5.60	3.65	3.55	5.35	4.93
SD	1.49	1.47	1.17	1.22	1.56	1.27	1.14

Note: ** p < 0.01; * p < 0.05.

below. The highest correlation was found between attitudes towards Chinese culture and Chinese people (r = 0.37). Hence, there was no multicollinearity concern. The variable with the highest mean value (M = 5.60) is attitude toward Chinese culture, and the variable with the lowest mean value (M = 3.55) is attitude toward the Chinese government, measured on a 7-point scale.

Independent-sample t-tests found that only perceived source credibility was significantly differentiated between the iPanda and National Geographic conditions, t(184.39) = −8.67, p < 0.001, with National Geographic (M = 5.46, SD = 0.73) being considered more credible than iPanda (M = 4.33, SD = 1.22). There was no significant between-group difference in the two control variables, including consumption of news about China between participants assigned to the iPanda (M = 2.83, SD = 1.73) and National Geographic (M = 2.60, SD = 1.63) conditions, t(242) = 1.05, p = 0.295. Neither was there any difference in perceived knowledge about U.S.-China relations between the iPanda (M = 3.65, SD = 1.81) and National Geographic (M = 3.40, SD = 1.79) conditions, t(243) = 1.09, p = 0.277. Furthermore, Levene’s tests also showed that the variances for these two variables between conditions were equal (news consumption: F(1, 241) = 0.53, p = 0.467; perceived knowledge: F(1, 242) = 0.28, p = 0.595). Thus, randomization was successful, and the sample in the two conditions should be considered equivalent.

A two-step procedure was employed to conduct the structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis to test all the hypotheses and research questions [65]. First, the measurement model demonstrated a sufficiently good model fit, χ² = 678.61, CMIN/DF = 1.77, p < 0.001; CFI = 0.950, IFI = 0.951; RMSEA = 0.056 [69]. All factor loadings were above 0.659. Next, a path analysis was performed (see Figure 1) and generated a good model fit (χ² = 25.13, df = 15, p = 0.048, CMIN/DF = 1.68, CFI = 0.952, RMSEA = 0.053).

Hypotheses 1a and 1b anticipated that nature-relatedness will be positively related to emotional response toward the video (β = 0.29, p < 0.001) and attitude toward Chinese culture (β = 0.22, p < 0.001). Both hypotheses were supported by the modeling results, as indicated by the positive and significant beta values. We also hypothesized that emotional response toward the panda video will be positively related to attitudes toward wildlife conservation (β = 0.14, p = 0.023) and Chinese culture (β = 0.17, p = 0.008). Both H2a and H2b were supported by the results.

While Hypotheses 3a presumed that attitude toward Chinese culture will be positively related to attitude toward Chinese people (β = 0.36, p < 0.001), H3b anticipated that attitude toward Chinese people will be positively related to attitude toward the Chinese government (β = 0.25, p < 0.001). The corresponding estimation results yielded support to both H3a and H3b. Hypothesis 4 expected that National Geographic will be rated more credible than iPanda as a message source, which was also confirmed by the modeling results (β = 0.49, p < 0.001).

Research questions 1a, 1b, and 1c investigated whether attitude toward wildlife conservation predicted attitudes toward Chinese culture (β = 0.16, p = 0.008), Chinese people (β = 0.04, p = 0.504), and the Chinese government (β = 0.11, p = 0.079), in that order. Results showed that a positive relationship was only found between attitudes toward wildlife conservation and Chinese culture (RQ1a). Moreover, research questions 2a, 2b, and 2c examined whether perceived source credibility would be positively associated with wildlife conservation attitude (β = 0.19, p = 0.003), attitude toward Chinese culture (β = 0.15, p = 0.016), and emotional response to the panda video (β = 0.15, p = 0.012), respectively. Findings provided an affirmative answer to the three research questions.

4. Discussion

The current study is the first to explore the theoretical implications of utilizing a wildlife conservation campaign as an international diplomacy strategy to promote a nation-state’s image. Our overarching question aimed to explore how emotional response to a panda video and attitude toward wildlife conservation may influence the relationships between evaluation of message source credibility and participant attitudes toward Chinese culture, Chinese people, and the Chinese government.

Specifically, greater nature-relatedness was found to be related to a more favorable emotional response to the video. These findings are consistent with Nisbet and Zelenski’s study [70], which suggested that stronger nature-relatedness was associated with more positive emotions and eco-friendly behaviors. By implication, wildlife conservation campaigns such as the panda conservation video featured in the current study may work better in eliciting positive emotions from those who already have a greater sense of nature-relatedness. Understanding the complexity of these positive emotions could have practical implications for formulating communication strategies that could be adopted—to persuade those who yet have to cultivate a strong connection with nature and wildlife—to support environmental sustainability and wildlife conservation programs.

In line with study expectations, the emotional contagion effect was validated, as the emotional response toward the panda video was positively connected to participant attitudes toward Chinese culture and wildlife conservation. These findings are consistent with Liang’s work [71], which reported that the positive sentiments regarding the countries involved in China’s Belt and Road Initiative—posted by China’s official media outlets on Facebook—increased international Facebook users’ “liking” and “sharing” responses. The author further characterized this event as an example of an effective Chinese diplomacy strategy that focused on less controversial topics such as cultural, economic, and/or scientific development.

Results also showed that nature-relatedness belief, emotional response toward the video, and attitude toward wildlife conservation were all significant predictors of attitude toward Chinese culture. These findings are indicative of an expression of appreciation from nature lovers and conservation-minded individuals (who have an emotional connection to panda’s plight) to China’s wildlife conservation effort. This appreciation, shown as a positive attitude toward Chinese culture, can be seen as a reflection of the hypothesized contagion effect. By contrast, attitude toward wildlife conservation (i.e., sustainable use of wildlife) did not have a direct effect on attitude toward the Chinese government or her people. Nonetheless, additional mediation analyses found an indirect effect of attitude toward wildlife conservation on Chinese people (b = 0.06, SE = 0.03, 95% CI [0.02, 0.11]) and then on the Chinese government (b = 0.02, SE = 0.01, 95% CI [0.01, 0.04])—through the direct effect of attitude toward Chinese culture on Chinese people—and the direct effect of attitude toward Chinese people on the Chinese government.

Taken together, these findings provide a complex picture of how wildlife diplomacy might have worked in the current study context. On the one hand, the lack of a direct effect from the attitude toward wildlife conservation on attitude toward the Chinese government seems to indicate an unwillingness to show approval of China as a country in general. On the other hand, wildlife diplomacy might have worked as the panda video elicited positive emotions and a desire for wildlife conservation and environmental sustainability, in addition to promoting a more positive attitude toward Chinese culture, which was transferred into a more favorable attitude toward her people and government. Study results here also echo Brownell’s contention [15] that the Chinese government should communicate “about the real issues” that are considered most problematic in the West (e.g., human rights), instead of just communicating “about communication” (p. 69) to improve its national image.

As public attitudes toward another country are related to public opinion on supporting or not supporting a foreign policy, improving relationships with the American public can help advance China’s national interests and policy goals [38]. This is especially important considering the fallout generated from the COVID-19 pandemic and human rights controversy on China’s national image [6,34]. Interestingly, the CCP’s recent communication strategies have moved from promoting Chinese culture in a soft tone to a more hardened “wolf warrior diplomacy” approach [72]. It would be interesting to know whether the wolf-warrior diplomacy approach might undercut the successful panda-diplomacy strategy in positioning a gentler image for the Chinese government.

Nature-relatedness was also found to have a positive association with attitude toward Chinese culture. This finding is most interesting since nature-relatedness is considered an individual trait [19]. By implication, nature lovers and wildlife enthusiasts may consider a nature-caring national culture, which shares the same nature-related identity as a kindred spirit, by developing a positive feeling toward that culture. In essence, finding a common ground [73] through issues and policies that communicate shared and transferrable cultural values, such as environmental sustainability and wildlife conservation, could be an effective nation branding strategy. The current study finding thus helps expand the application of nature-relatedness to include a cultural dimension, which opens opportunities for future research to study how nature-relatedness may serve as a bridge to bring together people from different national cultures to advance worldwide sustainability and conservation objectives.

Empirical research has yet to explore the connection between nature-relatedness beliefs, emotional response, and attitude toward wildlife conservation—in relation to attitude toward a national culture—and attitude toward the people who represent that culture. The current study has provided the first set of empirical evidence to explain their conceptual linkages. In particular, message source credibility had a positive direct effect on emotional response to the wildlife video, attitude toward wildlife conservation, and attitude toward Chinese culture. These findings thus confirm the potential effectiveness of an environmental diplomacy approach, which focuses on both an animal-to-people approach and people-to-people approach [74]. As evidenced in the current findings, by sidestepping political disputes and ideological differences, this type of diplomatic approach could help connect cultures and peoples as well as promote nation branding in a friendlier and more pressure-free manner.

In terms of message source credibility, a non-governmental entity did generate a stronger credibility as the source for the wildlife video than a governmental entity, consistent with the limited relevant research [52,53]. Specifically, National Geographic was perceived to be more credible than a less politically attractive government entity, iPanda. This is consistent with previous research that demonstrated how perceived similarity between the identity of the audience and a known source—both are non-government entities—boosted the perceived source credibility of the wildlife conservation video [54]. These findings reinforce conventional wisdom from commercial marketing that emphasizes how consumer decisions are often made based on both affective-emotional and rational-factual cues [59]. Since individuals tend to process messages more critically when they successfully recognize the persuasive attempt [38], this helps explain why an official government channel such as iPanda may not be the most ideal vehicle for implementing a nation-branding strategy. While it is important to recognize “content is king” in China’s digital diplomacy, what is equally, if not more noteworthy, is “the medium is the message” rationale.

5. Limitations and Future Research

Several limitations should be noted in the current study. First, utilizing a convenience sample of college students to generate self-report data reduces the study’s generalizability to the larger U.S. adult population. Second, even though an experimental research design was used to explain the relationships between the variables tested, a longitudinal study would provide more reliable findings. This is because the attitude toward a country’s identity and image does not change easily, as an attitude is often formed with the mediation of long-term exposure to cultural stereotypes and bias. Third, the current study did not measure negative eco-emotions—such as anxiety, sadness, and guilt [24,75]—to gauge the participants’ feelings toward pandas’ survival struggle. Future research could consider identifying and assessing a wider range of emotions that are relevant to nature-relatedness and wildlife conservation. Fourth, participants’ previous exposure to Chinese people and Chinese culture could have been explicitly measured as control variables, based on intergroup contact hypothesis. Lastly, more research is needed to explore how furthering international collaborations on advancing environmental sustainability and wildlife conservation programs may help foster a better understanding and greater respect between divergent peoples and cultures around the world.