Sino-US pairs put Ping-Pong Diplomacy back on the agenda

In April 1971, members of a US table tennis delegation visited China and played friendly matches. The trip paved the way for the reestablishment of Sino-US relations, which had been suspended for 22 years. Touted as one of the greatest diplomatic breakthroughs of that era, the event became known as Ping-Pong Diplomacy.

"Fifty years ago, a small exchange between players from the Chinese Table Tennis Association and USA Table Tennis has proved to be a moment of lasting significance," said Virginia Sung, chief executive officer of USA Table Tennis.

"As it did so many years ago, sports are once again showing us the power of unity, and ping-pong is once again changing the course of history."

Monday's announcement instantly became a trending topic on Chinese social media, while the hashtag "Chinese and American players form pairs at World Table Tennis Championships" had been viewed over 60 million times on Weibo by Monday afternoon.

Expectations are high for the two China-US pairs at the World Table Tennis Championships Finals.

"I'm really happy to be partnering with Lily Zhang for the mixed doubles event. She's the top table tennis player in the US. I'm not China's top player yet, but our goal is to come out on top for this event," said Lin, who currently ranks as the world's No 7 table tennis player.

"The biggest advantage about pairing with her is that she speaks Mandarin. I hope we can get into the groove soon, develop good chemistry and work hard toward a great performance. And I hope fans from both China and the US will cheer on the China-US mixed doubles pairs."