STORY: Chinese young baseball players express high expectations for matches in California
SHOOTING TIME: Jan. 19, 2024
DATELINE: Jan. 24, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:31
LOCATION: NANJING, China
CATEGORY: SPORTS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the training sessions (file footage)
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): HAN YUFEI, Baseball player, Student of Changzhou Beijiao Senior High School
3. various of the training sessions
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): SONG BINGZE, Baseball player, Student of Changzhou Beijiao Senior High School
5. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): ZHANG MINGXUAN, Baseball player, Student of Changzhou Beijiao Senior High School
6. various of the training sessions (file footage)
7. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): SHEN LIAN, Deputy Director of Foreign Affairs Office of Changzhou

STORYLINE:

Twenty Chinese young baseball players set off for the United States to participate in the California Winter League (CWL) on Sunday.

This team from Changzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province is the only high school team among a total of eight teams from China, the U.S., the UK and Canada in the 20-day competition

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): HAN YUFEI, Baseball player, Student of Changzhou Beijiao Senior High School
"I had some experiences of competing with domestic players. The strategies here may be different from the American ones. I want to see their style and ways to play, and also make friends with American players."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): SONG BINGZE, Baseball player, Student of Changzhou Beijiao Senior High School
"Actually, I'm a big fan of swapping jerseys. This time during the trip to California, I hope I can still exchange and swap my jersey with those players."

North America's Major League Baseball (MLB) has been dedicated to the development of the bat-and-ball sport in China since 2007, establishing two development centers in Jiangsu.

Since 2011, Changzhou Beijiao Senior High School has collaborated with MLB to promote baseball sport in China and bridge the exchange of players between China and other countries.

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): ZHANG MINGXUAN, Baseball player, Student of Changzhou Beijiao Senior High School
"When I played games in America, I introduced myself to my American teammates, and they were pretty interested in my Chinese name. I think it's the communication between Chinese culture and American culture."

SOUNDBITE 4 (English): SHEN LIAN, Deputy Director of Foreign Affairs Office of Changzhou
"More than 50 years ago, China and the United States started diplomatic relations with the start of the Ping Pong diplomacy. And nowadays we're happy to see that more Changzhou teenagers, they are going to the United States with the support of the new ball games, which is a popular ball game, baseball. I hope that they will reach out to more U.S. teenagers and youngsters and start their friendship."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Nanjing, China.
(XHTV)