Cuddly calling card spreads goodwill

Germany was buzzing in late June with news that a long-awaited giant panda pair had arrived at the Berlin Zoo. The zoo had been without a panda since the death of Bao Bao five years earlier, and panda mania gripped the nation as the public waited to see Meng Meng and Jiao Qing.

On July 5, the day before the new $10 million Chinese-themed enclosure would open, the zoo held a welcoming ceremony for the pandas. Visiting President Xi Jinping toured the enclosure with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Merkel was overjoyed with the arrival of the "special envoys", telling Xi they were a "symbol of the relationship between our two countries".