China has offered Spain a pair of pandas during the ongoing visit of King Juan Carlos, as a goodwill gesture to promote ties between the two countries, the foreign ministry said Thursday.

"This is a very good gift for Spain," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.

"We hope the Spanish people will love them. As envoys of the Chinese people, we hope that the gift of the pair of pandas will increase the friendly relations between the two countries and peoples."

China has a long history of giving its national animal, the endangered panda, to other nations as a gesture of goodwill.

Officials at the Spanish embassy in Beijing said the pandas were not a gift, but were being loaned in an arrangement financed by a private Spanish company that runs the Madrid Zoo.

King Juan Carlos is currently on a visit to China. Queen Sofia is scheduled to visit the nation's panda breeding centre in southwestern China's Sichuan province on Friday, the final day of a five-day visit.