On May 30, 2026, the Embassy of China in the United States hosted “The Night of Pickleball & the Premiere of China Trip Documentary”. Ambassador Xie Feng and his wife Madam Wang Dan joined teachers and students of an American youth pickleball delegation who had visited China, along with their families, in looking back on a heartwarming journey in which young Chinese and Americans connected through pickleball and became true friends.

In his remarks, Ambassador Xie said to the students that through pickleball, you developed sincere friendship. Since last year, you have warmly engaged with two Chinese delegations of teachers and students from Shenzhen and Shanghai during their visits to the United States. During the Chinese New Year, you returned to China and participated in youth pickleball friendship matches in four places: Shenzhen, Shangyou in Jiangxi, Hebi in Henan, and Beijing. Haley, who was visiting China for the second time, said with emotion, “Coming back to China felt like returning to my second home.” Your friends from Shanghai, who had visited you in Montgomery County, even made a special trip to Beijing just to see you again. These touching moments show us how pickleball is bringing young people in China and the United States closer together.

Ambassador Xie went on to point out that through pickleball, you learned from each other — and experienced an open China. During your visit in February, you did much more than play pickleball with Chinese friends on the court. Off the court, you made dumplings, tried sugar-figure blowing, painted opera masks, visited flower markets, wrote Spring Festival couplets, put up the character fu for good fortune, and watched lion dances, acrobatics, Sichuan Opera and face-changing performances. You experienced a truly authentic Chinese New Year. The trip took you across China, from north to south, and from major cities to smaller communities. You visited villages, towns, and neighborhoods, gaining a multi-dimensional view of life in today’s China. As Emily said, the real China is very different from media narratives. What you see with your own eyes is far more vivid and far more real than anything you may read online or in books.

Ambassador Xie stressed that through pickleball, you connected with one another and built bridges of communication. More than half a century ago, a small ping-pong ball helped build a bridge of communication across the Pacific. Today, pickleball is creating a new pathway for people-to-people exchange between our two countries. Although born in the United States, Pickleball is gaining popularity in China. In Guangdong, Henan, Shandong, and many other places, the sport has already made its way into physical education programs in primary and middle schools. From ping-pong to pickleball, the paddles have changed. But our peoples’ shared wish for friendship remains as strong as ever.