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Remember the pandas?

The lovable creatures were caught in a political crossfire two years ago as the City Council and Mayor Martin Chavez haggled over the city budget.

Specifically, the mayor issued a proposal for a general obligation bond that included $1.8 million for a panda exhibit at the Rio Grande Zoo. The council nixed the proposal in favor of basic infrastructure needs.

That didn't stop the panda quest, however.

On Wednesday, Chavez said he's scheduled to meet next month with Chinese Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong in Washington to discuss acquiring a panda for the zoo.

In June, while on a planned trip to Lanzhou - Albuquerque's sister city in China - Chavez plans to stop in Beijing to meet with government officials to discuss the issue further.

Four U.S. zoos have negotiated deals with China to host pairs of pandas, at a cost of about $1 million a year. The city's plan is to host an offspring of the pandas that reside at the San Diego Zoo.

But the plan stalled recently when the city's liaison in China - Chen Runsheng, secretary-general of the China Wildlife Conservation Association - retired Dec. 31, Ray Darnell, director of the Albuquerque Biological Park, said.

"You just have to meet and work with the new people," Chavez said.

The mayor said there's still a lot of work to do.

"I've never said it's a done deal," he said. "It's far from that."