Xu Yinsheng, the honorary life chairman of the International Table Tennis Federation, and Zhang Yining, former Olympic and world champion, present winners of the games with the award. [Photo by Gao Erqiang/China Daily]

Twelve students from the University of Virginia in the United States took on their peers from Fudan University and Shanghai University of Sports in a ping-pong tour on Jan 9 in Shanghai, in a display of youth friendship and sports diplomacy.

Given that this year marks the 45th anniversary of China-US diplomatic relations, the competition brought together the next generation from both countries.

The matches saw teams collaborate across borders, cheering on one another. "We name this activity as 'rekindling Ping-Pong Diplomacy', which implies our hope of using ping-pong to strengthen ties between young people in China and the US.

They hold the key to our future," said Fu Jihong, vice president of the Shanghai People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.

The exchange is part of the UVA students' ping-pong diplomacy tour, which attempts to better understand the role that cultural and educational exchanges, as well as civilian diplomacy, have had in the development of China-US relations.

Shanghai is their final stop on this trip after visiting Hong Kong and Beijing. It recalls the historic 1971 visit by the US ping-pong team to China, which is credited with reopening diplomatic channels between China and the US in what became known as "Ping-Pong Diplomacy".

Since that ice-breaking moment more than half a century ago, person-to-person bonds have played an important supportive role in the evolving relationship between the two nations, said Bruce Reynolds, retired professor of UVA and also a witness to the Ping-Pong Diplomacy.

With the assistance of his Chinese partner, UVA junior Abdallah Aljerjawi is practicing his ping-pong skills with a robot. [Photo by Gao Erqiang/China Daily]

"I think that our political leaders need that now as much, maybe more," he added.

The visiting Americans embraced the chance to fully immerse themselves in Chinese culture and gained a wide grasp of both nations' cultures. Many also made new friends among the Chinese students.

"I always found that one of the first ways that I would make friends was through sports," according to UVA sophomore Misa Layne, who was born in Beijing when her father was a diplomat in China.

"It is really inspiring to learn about the history of ping-pong and how ping-pong was so crucial in US-China relations at the start of it."

"This project allowed students from our three universities to engage in cross-cultural interaction. I learned a lot about my partner's views on the relations between China and the US and found she also hopes that the two nations can coexist peacefully," said Layne's partner, Zhong Yuhang, a student from Fudan University.

"If the general population of the two countries understands each other much better, then I could see how the governments would be more willing to cooperate later on in the future," said Paul McKissock, a third-year UVA student, who expressed his belief that what they are doing is crucial.

"Just as I did when I first came to China as a young person, they will have an impact just as individuals. I also think that they will talk to their friends and families about their China experience and about how warm and wonderful the people were. That will have an impact," said Reynolds.

Zheng Zheng contributed to this story.

Daniel Delk, deputy principal officer at the US Consulate General in Shanghai, and Stephen Mull, vice-provost for global affairs at the University of Virginia, kick off the games with their Chinese counterparts. [Photo by Gao Erqiang/China Daily]