Giant pandas from China could be arriving in the United States again soon. According to The New York Times, Beijing is planning to continue its panda diplomacy with Western countries, a statement from the Chinese Embassy to the United States said.

The China Wildlife Conservation Association has reached agreement with the San Diego Zoo in California “on a new round of international giant panda conservation cooperation,” according to the statement. The agreement keeps alive a more than five-decade tradition of China lending pandas to American zoos in a gesture of friendly diplomacy between the two countries. China is also negotiating with the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

The San Diego Zoo is “taking important steps to ensure we are prepared for a potential return,” a statement by Dr. Megan Owen said. Dr. Owen is vice president of conservation science at the zoo.

Pandas in the wild live in forests in the mountains of southwest China, where they subsist on bamboo, of which they need between 26 and 84 pounds daily.