Connie Sweeris (4th L), American table tennis champion who went on the ice-breaking trip to China in 1971, her husband Dell Sweeris (3rd L), and participants from China and the United States take selfies during an event to commemorate the 52nd anniversary of Ping-Pong Diplomacy in Fremont, California, the United States, Dec. 15, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Tuesday said that the mutual visits of table tennis teams of young players added a new chapter to the stories of China-U.S. friendship and new impetus to people-to-people exchanges.

Spokesperson Mao Ning made the remarks at a daily press briefing in response to a query on the visit of the Peking University table tennis team to the United States and the visit of the table tennis delegation from the University of Virginia to China, which are regarded as friendly exchanges between Chinese and U.S. universities after the summit meeting in San Francisco.

The Peking University table tennis team visited the United States at its invitation and took part in the USATT Table Tennis Open Championships and an event held by the Chinese Embassy and Consulates in the United States to mark the historic ping-pong diplomacy very recently, Mao said, noting that the team played table tennis and interacted with U.S. friends who were personally involved in ping-pong diplomacy, young students and the local people.

The table tennis delegation from the University of Virginia visited China upon invitation and attended the China-U.S. Youth Ping-Pong Exchange at Tsinghua University, she said.

The mutual visits added a new chapter to the stories of China-U.S. friendship that began with ping-pong diplomacy and new impetus to people-to-people exchanges, said Mao.

"The hope of the China-U.S. relationship lies in the people, its foundation is in our societies, its future depends on the youth, and its vitality comes from exchanges at subnational levels," she said.

Young table tennis players from China and the United States kick-started the progress toward normalizing China-U.S. relations in Beijing 53 years ago, hence the much told stories of "the little ball being able to move the big ball", said the spokesperson.

"The more people-to-people exchanges our two countries have, the greater the public support, prospects and dynamism for China-U.S. relations will be," Mao said.

"China stands ready to work with the United States to deliver the important common understanding reached at the San Francisco summit meeting on promoting people-to-people exchanges, carry forward the spirit of ping-pong diplomacy and write new chapters of friendship between our two peoples," she added.

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