Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang wished Chinese and American athletes good results in the Winter Olympics

Qin Gang, Chinese ambassador to the United States, wished Chinese and American athletes good results in the Winter Olympics. Image credit: Washington Wizards

Washington, January 26 (People's Daily News) -- On the evening of January 25, Eastern Time, Ambassador Qin Gang delivered a video speech during the game between the Washington Wizards and the Los Angeles Clippers in the American Professional Basketball League (NBA), extending Spring Festival greetings to the two participating teams and the majority of fans, and wishing the Sino-US Winter Olympic delegation good results in the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics.

The game attracted nearly 10,000 American basketball fans to watch the game live. After the suspension of the game, the video of Qin Gang's speech was broadcast on the big screen of the stadium. Qin Gang greeted the fans at the scene and congratulated the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the NBA, looking forward to the future development of the NBA. He said that because there were famous Chinese players representing the two teams, the majority of Chinese fans have a special love for the Washington Wizards and los Angeles Clippers.

Qin Gang pointed out that the "Washington Bullet Team," the predecessor of the Washington Wizards, visited China shortly after the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States in 1979, becoming the first ever NBA team to visit China. This shows that the impact of basketball has transcended the sport itself.

Qin Gang said that next week will usher in the Chinese New Year and the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, wishing the audience a happy and healthy Year of the Tiger, and also wishing the Chinese and AMERICAN Winter Olympic delegations the best performance in this Winter Olympics.

The whole game is full of rich Chinese cultural atmosphere, and the blessings of the New Year run through the competition. Before the game began, Chinese artists played the American national anthem with the pipa, a traditional Chinese instrument, and the wizards' players' names were Chinese on the big screen of the arena. During the pause, a video of the Wizards' players greeting the audience in Both Chinese and English was played. Between competitions, the local Chinese overseas Chinese community in Washington gave a wonderful lion dance performance. The audience was immersed in the strong Chinese New Year flavor and spent a pleasant "Chinese Culture Night".