China's Lin Gaoyuan (left, front) in red and the United States' Lily Zhang (left, back) practice against Kanak Jha (right, front) from the US, and China's Wang Manyu (right, back) at a training session in Houston, Texas, on Monday. American and Chinese players will compete in mixed teams at the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships in Houston, which began on Tuesday and runs through Monday. [Photo/Xinhua]

When the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships took place in Houston, Texas, Chinese and U.S. top paddlers will team up at the anticipated finals in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of “Ping-pong diplomacy.” Two powerful pairs will join hands to compete during the mixed doubles event. Lin Gaoyuan, the Chinese table tennis player, will partner with Lily Ann Zhang, the American table tennis player; Wang Manyu, a Chinese player who won gold for the table tennis women’s team during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, team up with the 21-year-old American young paddler Kanak Jha.

It was not the first time China and the U.S. were involved in a joint practice through table tennis, the miracle sport that could bridge two nations and cultures. On June 10, 1971, 15 American table tennis players were invited to China when the ‘Ping-pong Diplomacy’ happened. They have been the first group of visitors to China ever since 1949. Now fifty years have passed since the ‘Ping-pong Diplomacy’ hewed out a path for the Sino-American relations in the 80s and opened up a new era for international relations and cultural exchanges. This time, the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships offer a chance of “win-win” competition between the two teams as well as the two nations. It will also blaze another new trail to the friendship between the paddlers and countries.

Sports can play a crucial role in international relations. As a universal element in all cultures, it can unleash the power that unites people of different races, genders, religions, and nationalities together. This common language for all human beings speaks peaceful and harmonious words that can build connections between people. During the early days of New China (1949-1956), sports represented by table tennis played a unique role in breaking numerous blockades, thawing the Cold-War mentality tension between China and the U.S., exploring methods of international communications, and improving the global political climate at that time. Today, sports still contribute a lot to world peace within the international community, spurring cultural exchanges and intercultural communications. The collaboration of the Chinese, American paddlers marks a new beginning for sports diplomacy. It paves the way for the upcoming 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, where players from all over the world will enjoy the game with a spirit of friendship, solidarity, and fair play.

The World Table Tennis Championships are a fierce competition per se, and the real purpose is to use sports as the common language to let out China’s voice to the world. Table tennis is a sport of pride, a sport of love, and a sport speaking peace. "You have opened a new chapter in the relations of the American and Chinese people. I am confident that this beginning again of our friendship will certainly meet with the majority support of our two peoples," said Premier Chou En-lai. Indeed table tennis can be shared and share the world’s stories.