BERLIN, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will jointly open a garden in Zoo Berlin for the pair of giant pandas China has recently sent to Germany.

"I hope this pair of giant pandas ... will serve as envoys of China-Germany friendship," he said in a signed article published Tuesday on mainstream German media before he travels to the European country for a state visit and the upcoming Hamburg summit of the Group of 20 major economies.