Famous US talk show host Conan O'Brien and a practically unknown Chinese online presenter have become unlikely soul mates after feuding over the opening sequences of their programs.

Last month Conan was surprised to find the Dapeng Talk Show - an online Chinese program that copied the opening sequence of his show - on Youtube.

During his Feb 27 program, Conan called it "ripping off" and "unbelievable".

"That's insane," he shouted, "I should rip off their show and see how you like it!" His visual effects team tossed some random Chinese characters onscreen to express his "fury".

Two days later Charles Zhang, CEO of Sohu, the Chinese website that produces the Dapeng show, apologized in his micro blog for copying Conan's opening, and said he has been working hard with major studios to crack down on online piracy of American TV series, which he hoped could make up for his mistake.

In Dapeng's show the following day, the opening was just two Chinese characters saying "opening" against a black background.

"Welcome to our local, copycat talk show," Dapeng said. "As you see, we have no opening now. We lost face for the Chinese people and feel sorry about that, but my ex-girlfriend actually regrets dumping me because she saw me in an American talk show."

He then apologized to Conan and his production team. Hoping Conan would accept his apology, he performed an amusing "sorry sorry dance" with his crew.

Dapeng, or Dong Chengpeng in real life, told China Daily that after doing the self-mocking show he was nervous about how Conan would react.

To his joyous surprise Conan responded on March 5 with his own "you don't have to apologize and sorry for making you feel bad" dance in his show.

"I now feel bad that I made you feel bad," Conan said in the show. "You are only a small online talk show in China. Frankly I am flattered that you ripped us off. I took it as compliment."

He then announced that he had their graphics department create a new opening for Dapeng featuring Chinese elements such as a dragon and Chinese zodiac creatures.

The latest Dapeng show on March 7 used the new opening, while Dapeng hosted the show in broken English to express his gratitude.

"My grandpa gave me a jade, and asked me to give it to my soul mate. I think that's you, Coco," he said.

He even "shot" four men in black because Conan had been "killed" by four men in black in one of his early shows.

But behind the light-hearted China-US interaction, senior critic and insider Tan Fei sees a serious issue of respect for copyright.

"We can see the Internet has made former boundaries porous," he said. "Although both sides have smartly turned a possible conflict into an entertaining interaction with a lovely sense of humor, in the long run you need to have something original and creative, something of your own, to be a really great, lively show."

Liu Chun, head of Sohu's video channel, said he feels sorry for the copying, and asked for tolerance from viewers.

"Online talk shows are still in their infancy in China. We have done something improper, no doubt," he said. "We appreciate Conan's tolerance and sense of humor so much."

liuw@chinadaily.com.cn