STORY: Chinese, American table tennis players commemorate 52nd anniversary of "Ping-Pong Diplomacy"
SHOOTING TIME: Dec. 13, 2023
DATELINE: Dec. 17, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:56
LOCATION: Washington D.C.
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the event
2. various of the friendly game
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): CONNIE SWEERIS, Eyewitness of "Ping-Pong Diplomacy"
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): DELL SWEERIS, Eyewitness of "Ping-Pong Diplomacy"
5. various of the friendly game
6. SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): DING NING, China's Olympic table tennis champion
7. SOUNDBITE 4 (Chinese): LIU WEI, China's table tennis world champion

STORYLINE:

This year marks the 52nd anniversary of Ping-Pong Diplomacy between China and the United States.

At a recent commemorative event held in the Chinese Embassy in the United States, a mixed-team friendly game was played to look back at history and renew the goodwill between the Chinese and American people.

Connie Sweeris, American table tennis champion who went on the ice-breaking trip to China in 1971, and her husband Dell Sweeris who received the Chinese table tennis delegation visiting the United States in 1972, recalled their experiences.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): CONNIE SWEERIS, Eyewitness of "Ping-Pong Diplomacy"
"I think it's very important to promote the relationship in table tennis. You have to have some impetus somewhere to begin to have an effect on the political scene in both countries. And if we can grow table tennis here in the United States and have more of these exchanges and be able to compete on a higher level, I think that will naturally come."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): DELL SWEERIS, Eyewitness of "Ping-Pong Diplomacy"
"The younger people, the current leaders of China table tennis and U.S. table tennis are working hard to have more and more exchanges and keep the friendship going."

China's table tennis world champions Ding Ning and Liu Wei led the delegation of Peking University table tennis team to compete in the friendly game.

SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): DING NING, China's Olympic table tennis champion
"I believe that not only for the young people of both countries, but also for many more other people, we can better understand each other, learn more about each other and further promote cooperation through sports. So I think sports is a particularly good way to promote communication between people."

SOUNDBITE 4 (Chinese): LIU WEI, China's table tennis world champion
"It's a great honor for us to carry forward the legacy of the 'Ping-Pong Diplomacy' as successors. I also hope that as the 45th anniversary of the establishment of China-U.S. diplomatic ties approaches, this 'Ping-Pong Diplomacy' event can truly embody the spirit of placing friendship first and competition second in the sport of table tennis."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Washington D.C.
(XHTV)