With the theme of "Re-walking the Road of Table Tennis and Moving Together to the Future", the Sino-US Youth Table Tennis Exchange Activity was held at Tsinghua University yesterday morning, and table tennis enthusiasts from the University of Virginia and Tsinghua University in the United States exchanged skills and enhanced friendship.
Yesterday morning, a unique Sino-US youth table tennis friendly match started in the Tsinghua University Comprehensive Gymnasium, students from the University of Virginia and Tsinghua University table tennis team members jointly formed a team to play this mixed friendly match. On the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, the Municipal Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries invited an 18-member delegation from the University of Virginia led by Ambassador Marr, Vice Provost for Global Affairs, to visit Beijing from January 4 to 8, and jointly organized the "China-US Youth Table Tennis Exchange Activity" with the theme of "Re-walking the Road of Table Tennis and Moving Together to the Future" with the Municipal Sports Bureau. Zhang Qian, Executive Vice President of the Municipal Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, Wang Hongwei, Vice President of Tsinghua University, Ambassador Marr, Vice Provost for Global Affairs at the University of Virginia, and Mr. Dewei Mead, Chargé d'Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in China. David Meale and others delivered speeches at the event. Tang Zhiwen, Deputy Director General of the Department of American and Pacific Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sun Tao, Deputy Director of the Department of the United States Department of the National Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, Chen Jie, Deputy Director of the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau, and Wang Yanxia, Vice President of the Municipal Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, attended the event. More than 200 teachers and students of Tsinghua University, foreign friends in Beijing and representatives of relevant institutions watched the competition.
Yu Hongbo of the Tsinghua University table tennis team delivered a speech at the opening ceremony as a student representative, he said that Tsinghua University attaches great importance to physical exercise, and it is rare to have a rare opportunity to exchange table tennis with American college students, "On the one hand, it is busy in Tsinghua, on the other hand, the sports atmosphere of Tsinghua University is very good, and it is more meaningful to participate in this exchange activity to communicate with students from the United States, and my teammate also plays very well, because she can also communicate with us in Chinese." ”
Yu Hongbo, a student representative of Tsinghua University, table tennis world champion Liang Geliang, as a witness of the 1971 "Sino-US table tennis diplomacy", talked about the pre-game training scene between him and the American team member Cohen at the World Table Tennis Championships in Nagoya 52 years ago, "I played with Cohen for about 5 minutes, and I recall that these five minutes have always had a great impact on me Xi. ”
Liang Geliang, a witness to "China-US Ping Pong Diplomacy".
On April 10, 1971, the U.S. table tennis delegation arrived in Beijing, starting this journey of "Sino-US table tennis diplomacy", which also achieved a good story in the history of Sino-US relations. Abdullah, a student at the University of Virginia in the United States, said that the table tennis racket he uses is also very significant, "This is the signed racket of Connie Svelis, a former American national player who visited China in 1971. ”
Abdullah Abdullah, a student at the University of Virginia and the coach of the Tsinghua University table tennis team and world champion, pointed out that the table tennis exchange between Chinese and American youth can strengthen mutual understanding, "This exchange activity is also very meaningful, promoting the relationship between China and the United States, and it is also a cultural exchange between Chinese and American young students. ”
After the friendly match between Tsinghua University table tennis coach and world champion Liu Guozheng, Liang Geliang also presented awards to the winners, emphasizing that only by strengthening exchanges between Chinese and American youth can we further enhance friendship, "Table tennis can continue to play a role in the new era, and Chinese and American players can learn from each other's strengths and weaknesses. ”
"Sino-US ping-pong diplomacy" has kicked off the normalization of Sino-US relations. On the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, the "China-US Youth Table Tennis Exchange Activity" aims to once again use table tennis as a carrier to pay tribute to history, renew friendship, build a platform for young people of the two countries to get to know each other, and inject non-governmental strength and youth vitality into the future development of China-US relations.