FILE - Bai Yun, the mother of newly named panda cub, Mei Sheng, gets a mouthful of bamboo during the cub's first day on display at the San Diego Zoo on Dec. 17, 2003. China is working on sending a new pair of giant pandas to the San Diego Zoo, renewing its longstanding gesture of friendship toward the United States after nearly all the iconic bears in the U.S. were returned to the Asian country in recent years amid rocky relations between the two nations. San Diego sent back its last pandas to China in 2019. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi,File)
FILE--Bai Yun, one of two giant pandas on exhibit at the San Diego Zoo, looks towards the crowd on Nov. 1, 1996, in San Diego. China is working on sending a new pair of giant pandas to the San Diego Zoo, renewing its longstanding gesture of friendship toward the United States after nearly all the iconic bears in the U.S. were returned to the Asian country in recent years amid rocky relations between the two nations. San Diego sent back its last pandas to China in 2019. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy,File)
FILE - Hua Mei, the baby panda at the San Diego Zoo, peeks over a branch while enjoying a bamboo breakfast at the Zoo, on Aug. 15, 2000, in San Diego. China is working on sending a new pair of giant pandas to the San Diego Zoo, renewing its longstanding gesture of friendship toward the United States after nearly all the iconic bears in the U.S. were returned to the Asian country in recent years amid rocky relations between the two nations. San Diego sent its last pandas back to China in 2019. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi, file)