US-China players team up at worlds to mark ‘ping-pong diplomacy’

US and Chinese table tennis players will pair up at the world championships finals in Houston to mark the 50th anniversary of “ping-pong diplomacy”, the sport’s governing body said Monday.

China’s Lin Gaoyuan will play with the American Lily Zhang while Wang Manyu will join forces with Kanak Jha in the mixed doubles at the tournament this week, the International Table Tennis Federation said.

The two American-Chinese pairings will “build on the China-US friendship” and open “a new chapter of ‘ping-pong diplomacy’ in this new era”, Chinese Table Tennis Association president Liu Guoliang said in a statement.

The ITTF declared that “history will be made in Houston”.

“Ping-pong diplomacy” refers to a series of friendly matches between Chinese and American teams in 1971 which eventually paved the way for formal diplomatic relations between Washington and an isolated Beijing.

The 50th anniversary comes amid tense relations between the two countries, with the world’s top two economies at loggerheads over a number of issues, including the fate of China’s Uyghur minority and a clampdown in Hong Kong.

But Chinese officials and state media have hailed the anniversary as a largely positive opportunity to celebrate ping-pong diplomacy’s “wonderful legacy”.

The world championships finals take place from November 23-29.