From August 31 to September 2, at the invitation of the Global Creative Cities Coalition (“GC3”), Xu Fenghua, Deputy Inspector of the Department of American and Oceanian Affairs of CPAFFC, led a delegation to visit Long Beach, California to attend the Ping Pong Fit 2019 International Festival.

Deputy Inspector Xu read the congratulatory message from President Li Xiaolin on the opening ceremony of the event, introduced the main tasks of CPAFFC and the work we have done for the local government exchanges between China and the United States in recent years, and said that the event is of great significance to the sports and cultural exchanges between China and the United States.

Monique Luo and Barry Sedlik, the founders of GC3 and host of the Festival, said that the purpose of the event is to promote ping pong through public participation, so as to enhance the understanding and friendship between people of China and the United States, and that they will set up table tennis tables in public places in more cities in the future, in order to promote a healthier and happier lifestyle to more people in the United States.

Zhang Ping, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Los Angeles, John Keisler, Economic Development Director of the City of Long Beach, and other Chinese and foreign guests attended the opening ceremony and cut the ribbon for the Festival. CPAFFC delegation delivered the commemorative paddles specially made by Shanghai Double Happiness Co., Ltd. for the event to the Festival organizer and the City of Long Beach.

During the visit to the United States, the delegation also held meetings with Katherine Greene, representative of the Mayor of Dublin, California, Jeffrey Greene, Chairman of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundationon, and Edward Beneda, son of U.S. Flying Tigers veteran Glen Beneda on the possibility of cooperation on strengthening China-U.S. sub-national government cooperation, carrying on friendship between the two countries and spreading the story of bilateral cooperation of the Flying Tigers.

Photographed by Liu Yi