FUZHOU, China, June 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On June 29, The Bond with Kuliang: 2026 China-U.S. Youth Baseball Exhibition Games and Sports Festival kicked off at the Fuzhou Strait International Conference and Exhibition Centre in Fujian Province. Themed "Pitch across Oceans, Catch the Future", the event was jointly hosted by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the General Administration of Sport of China, and the People's Government of Fujian Province. About 400 participants, including members of eight youth baseball teams from China and the United States, members of the "Friends of Kuliang", a group of descendants of the American families who once lived in Fuzhou, students of Flying Tigers Friendship School and representatives from sister cities, attended the event.
A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking on this link.
Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4knuwgdDt0
Three key outcomes of Fujian-U.S. friendship exchanges and cooperation were unveiled at the opening ceremony: the signing of an MOU between the Fujian Provincial People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation; sister-city cooperation MOUs between Fuzhou and the cities of Honolulu and Tacoma; and the establishment of the China-U.S. Youth Exchange Camp in Kuliang as a physical platform for long-term youth exchanges between the two countries.
As this year marks the 55th anniversary of China-U.S. Ping-Pong Diplomacy, the opening ceremony's cultural performances blended table tennis and baseball elements, recalling the historic episode often described as "a small ball moving the big globe". The event also featured interactive zones including table tennis experience areas, a "Bond with Kuliang" themed exhibition, photo-op areas, a jasmine tea intangible cultural heritage experience, and Fuzhou tourism showcases, collectively creating an immersive space that integrates historical exhibitions, sports interaction, city promotion, and cultural heritage.
Scheduled to run through July 2, the festival will feature friendly matches in Pingtan county among the eight Chinese and American youth baseball teams. The young participants will also visit several secondary schools and universities in Fuzhou to engage in sports interactions, intangible cultural heritage workshops, and sci-tech exchanges. Concurrently, a "Friends of Kuliang" storytelling session, the opening of the China-U.S. Youth Friendship Park, and cultural and tourism tours across Fuzhou will take place.
As a landmark people-to-people exchange project, the event is part of an initiative to invite 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study programs over five years. Driven by youth participation and sports such as baseball, the initiative leverages Kuliang's century-old cultural legacy to ensure that the "Kuliang bond" remains vibrant and is passed down through younger generations.
Source: Ad Hoc Committee of The Bond with Kuliang: 2026 China-U.S. Youth Baseball Exhibition Games and Sports Festival
Contact person: Mr. Lin, Tel: 86-10-63074558
