NO GIANT PANDAS NOW FOR L.A. BUT MONKEYS OK'D.

Byline: Mariel Garza Staff Writer

Unable to secure coveted giant pandas anytime soon, Mayor James Hahn signed an agreement today with Chinese wildlife officials to borrow golden monkeys for display at the Los Angeles Zoo.

Hahn hopes the agreement - signed on a 10-day trade mission to Asia - will help the 35-year-old Los Angeles Zoo regain its reputation as a world-renowned facility.

``The Los Angeles Zoo is in the middle of a rebirth, once again taking its rightful place as a world-class zoo,'' Hahn said at joint press conference with officials from the China Wildlife Conservation Association.

The mayor's public statements - expressing his hopes for the giant pandas in advance of today's meeting with skittish Chinese officials - may actually set back the process of getting the animals, according to the American consultant who came to Beijing to help the mayor get pandas.

David Towne, who represents the Giant Panda Conservation Association and helps zoos negotiate panda loans, said the Chinese are sensitive to premature publicity and Hahn's comments could delay a process that already takes several years.

Despite Hahn's hopes to beat out Memphis, Las Vegas and Oakland for the giant pandas, the mayor said he wasn't disappointed by the loan of the Chinese monkeys - which have distinctive blue faces and golden hair - because no other zoo in North America currently has any.

Chen Runsheng, the secretary general of the China Wildlife Conservation Association, made it clear that there is no panda in the near future for the Los Angeles Zoo, but did make a commitment to send golden monkeys on a long-term loan.

``It will not be within the ability of the China Wildlife Conservation Association to provide a panda to you,'' Chen said to Hahn. ``I hope you understand.

``Golden monkeys are very lovely, and once they arrive in Los Angeles, you'll find out how pretty they are.''

As part of the announcement, Hahn also unveiled plans to build an Asian Forest section at the Los Angeles Zoo. In addition to the loan of the golden monkeys in as little as six months, zoo officials hope to get the loan of red pandas, which are small, long-tailed animals that resemble raccoons.

After the zoo meeting, Hahn took a trip with his ever-growing delegation to see the Great Wall.

Later in the day, Hahn was scheduled to meet with Beijing Mayor Liu Qi to discuss a city-to-city agreement on construction. Hahn said Los Angeles companies stand to gain through construction opportunities related to new buildings in Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games and also the Chinese city's second airport, to be completed in time for the Olympics.

Hahn said he was trying to keep an open mind about what comes of all these meetings.

``I think it's important not to have expectations,'' Hahn said. ``Building relationships is what's really important. The Chinese are very relationship-oriented.''

In fact, the mayor's delegation has been warned about saying it has specific desires.

``In Chinese culture, you don't go around saying `I want this. I want that,''' said Hahn's press secretary Julie Wong.

Hahn's 10-day trade and tourism mission has a delegation consisting of a number of Los Angeles business people, including some from construction companies who hope to use the occasion to expand their business.

Alan Skobin, vice president of Galpin Ford, said the mayor's trip offers them a rare platform for meeting with Chinese and other Asian officials. The group has also been growing as Chinese-American business people join the group, such as Franklin Tseng, the Bejing-based director of development of McDonald's, which is trying to open a branch in the new Beijing airport.

On Thursday, Hahn is scheduled to meet with China's President Jiang Zemin. Hahn said his main goal with the Chinese leader is to build a relationship that could later benefit the city.