Ping-Pong Diplomacy chalks up 50 years

Overseas gifts

According to Double Happiness Sports, a sports equipment producer based in Shanghai, and sponsor of the commemorative event, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is one of its biggest regular clients.

Lou Shihe, general manager of the company, which has been among the sponsors for six Olympic Games, said, "Many orders for our equipment have been placed by Chinese embassies and consulates as gifts for cities overseas, as table tennis is a signature Chinese sport."

For example, he said the company's products were offered as gifts in the US to a high school in Tacoma, Washington state, and to Latin American countries during President Xi Jinping's respective visits in 2015 and 2016.

"When delivering a speech to students and teachers from the school, President Xi recollected stories about Ping-Pong Diplomacy and encouraged teenagers from the two nations to boost exchanges and strengthen friendship," Lou said.

He added that he was later told that after receiving the equipment, table tennis had become one of the most popular activities for the students from Lincoln High School in Tacoma.

Since 2016, the school has arranged annual visits to China. Students have visited cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Dujiangyan, Sichuan province, and Fuzhou, Fujian province. The school has also received exchange students from China.

In a letter written to Xi in February, Patrick Erwin, the school's principal, said, "As China and the US withstand the test of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is the best time for the students to play a leading role in helping the two nations support each other and recover."