(XINHUA)

Former table tennis players from China and the United States play a game during a reception commemorating the 40th anniversary of Sino-U.S. Ping Pong Diplomacy in San Francisco, the United States, on July 5.

A series of activities were held on the day in the city for the event. Cai Zhenhua, Vice Minister of the State General Administration of Sport of China, led a Chinese delegation to participate in the celebrations.

In 1971, nine American table tennis players were invited to Beijing for exhibition games with Chinese players, which helped break the ice between China and the United States and laid the groundwork for the eventual establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations.