Israel will soon receive a pair of Beijing's famous cuddly bear ambassadors, as China announced this week that it would loan a zoo in Haifa two giant panda bears.

Beijing's practice of giving the bears to allies and partners has a long history: some date to the 7th-century Tang Dynasty and it was revived by Mao Zedong in the 20th century.

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It became well known in the U.S. in 1972, when then-president Richard Nixon received two pandas after making a landmark visit to China. Since then countries ranging from Belgium to Japan have received the ursine envoys.

Given the pandas' ubiquity and cuteness, it is easy to forget what a strange diplomatic tactic loaning them is. Pandas are a strange lot. They are notoriously difficult to breed and expensive to keep.

In the complicated world of diplomacy between Israel and China, perhaps a panda makes sense.

The two countries may seem like close allies now, but it hasn't always been the case - and things are already more complicated than meets the eye.

In 1950, a newly established Israel was the first Middle Eastern nation to recognize the Communist Party as the legitimate leader of China.

Israel had some reason to look kindly upon China: about 20,000 Jews had taken refuge in the country during the Second World War. However, for decades after the People's Republic of China was established, relations were strained.

China had little, if any, diplomatic ties with Israel and instead emphasized its support for Palestinian groups. By the mid-1980s, things were beginning to change behind the scenes: rapidly modernizing China was starting to secretly eye Israel technology.

In 1992, after Israel and the PLO began peace negotiations, China established diplomatic relations with the country. Relations bloomed. Israel rapidly became the second-biggest arms supplier to China and bilateral trade boomed - the volume increasing from almost $50 million in 1992 to more than $10 billion last year.

TagsPanda, Israel