On the occasion of the 10thanniversary ofthe Belt and Road Initiative, Shi Zhihao,Director, Professor and Ph.D. Supervisor of China Table Tennis College(CTTC)at theShanghai University of Sport(SUS), Shao Yuping, President of Papua New Guinea(PNG) Table Tennis Association, and Geffrey Loi, student of Shanghai University of Sport and player of the Papua New Guinea table tennis national team, joined hands on the stage ofThe Beauty of Shared Arts, a program of international cultural exchanges, aired on CCTV-1 , to tell the story of the ping-pong romance between the two countries. With table tennis as the bridge, joining for the harmonious and happy journey together.
In the program, the guests reviewed the journey of the PNG Table Tennis National Team led by CTTC, SUS. CTTC has sent a strong coaching team, including Olympic Champion Zhang Yining, to improve the training environments, replace professional equipment, and provide systematic training program for PNG players. The breakthrough silver medal in 2019 and the team bronze medal in 2023 at the Pacific Games witnessed the fruitful friendship between China and PNG.
President Shao and Loi expressed great gratitude to the Chinese group. President Shi put forward the concept ofTable Tennis from China, Shared to the World, saying that China helped PNG with table tennis, and at the same time, built a wonderful platform for the communication and exchange of the culture between both countries.
President Shao said that with the help of CTTCatSUS, PNG table tennis players have performed excellently in the international competitions recently and often rank among the top four. Loi, on the other hand, showed off his ping-pong skills trained by the Chinese group on the stage, winning rounds of applause.
During the program, Chinese singer Chen Linong and PNG singer Mereani R Masani jointly sang the song "Have A Dream To Be". The lyrics of "Take my dream around" beautifully expressed the friendship between the Chinese and PNG youth while pursuing their dreams together.
Thestorybetween Shanghai University of Sport and Papua New Guinea table tennis, like a romantic poem, began with an encounter at anAnnual General Meeting(AGM)of International Table Tennis Federation(ITTF). Shao Yuping, President of PNG Table Tennis Association, expressed the need of "the support for development of table tennis in PNG" to Shi Zhihao, who was the Vice president ofITTFat that time. SUS responded immediately to their requirements. In 2018, the Cooperation Agreement on the Establishment of theChina Table Tennis College Training Center in Papua New Guinea(CTTC Training Center in PNG)was jointly signed by six members, including the Ministry of Sport of Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea Olympic Committee and the Papua New Guinea Table Tennis Association, etc.
The CTTC training center in PNG has received deep concern from President Xi Jinping twice. In November 2018, President Xi Jinping inspected theCTTC trainingcenterin PNGduringhisstate visit to Papua New Guinea, watched Shi Zhihao and Zhang Yining lead the training for the PNG players, carefully asked the situation of China Table Tennis College andthe training center, and said: "Sports and cultural exchangearevery important. You should try to be friendly envoys of the two peoples."
Following the instructions of President Xi Jinping, SUS sent various kinds of equipment to PNG, as well as a professional coaching team, including Olympic Champion Zhang Yining, to establish a training system for PNG players, so as to improve their psychological and competition ability.
Meanwhile, SUSalso invited the PNG team to train in Shanghai. In order to enhance cultural exchange, SUS provided appreciative volunteers for the PNG team. Besides the training, the university also arranged Chinese traditional culture experience activities for them. After series of systematic training, in the Pacific Games held in July 2019, Coach Feng Zhe from CTTC led the PNG team to achieve a silver medal in men's doubles.
After the Games, PNG Table Tennis Association, as well as the PNG players were beside themselves with excitement. Loi, who was interviewed by Prsident Xi Jinping, wrote a letter to express his thanks. President Xi Jinping replied to Loi, wishing Loi and the PNG table tennis team another success and encouraging the young people of the two countries to make positive contributions to deepening the friendly relations between China and PNG.
The CTTC Training Center in PNG has also received great support from the Head of PNG government. During the training in SUS in 2018, the then PNG Prime Minister Peter Charles Paire O'Neill paid a visit to SUS and interviewed the four PNG players, saying that the PNG government would fully support the table tennis exchange program between the two countries. The current Prime Minister James Marape also attended the farewell parties before the team's departure for the Pacific Games in 2019 and before the team's training for the Pacific Games in Shanghai in July 2023.
At the 2023 Pacific Games, the PNG team made another historic breakthrough, winning the men's team bronze medal for the first time in 30 years.
On November 18, 2023, President Shi, Olympic Champion Zhang Yining and Loi were invited toThe Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. In theThematic Forum on People-to-People Connectivity, the part ofHeartwarming Letters of Profound Friendship, they told the story of President Xi Jinping visiting the CTTC Training Center in PNG and concerning about the development of PNG table tennis for many times. "May the friendship between China and Papua New Guinea last forever," Loi said in Chinese, and won a round of applause.
Sports, as a bridge of cultural exchange, has brought China closer to the world. The establishment of the China Table Tennis College Training Center in Papua New Guinea has not only improved the level of table tennis in Papua New Guinea, but also deepened the understanding and friendship between the two peoples. Through such communication and cooperation, cultural exchanges underthe Belt and Road Initiativewill be more colorful.
