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HOUSTON, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 21: Thomas Weikert, President of International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), speaks and introduces table tennis athletes of China and the U.S. at the evening banquet marking the 50th anniversary of Ping-Pong Diplomacy on November 21, 2021, in Houston, Texas. "To celebrate the 50 years anniversary of Ping-Pong Diplomacy, the Chinese Table Tennis Association and the USA Table Tennis have requested to the ITTF to have their national team athletes to play mixed doubles together, and which our ITTF Executive Committee has now approved. I would like to invite on stage Lin Gaoyuan, China, the world's number seven, who will pair with Lily Zhang from the USA, the world's number 35. Please come on stage. And Kanak Jha from the USA, number 31, who will play with Wang Manyu from China, world's number four," said Weikert. Chinese and U.S. players will team up in the mixed doubles competition at the 2021 Houston World Table Tennis Championships said the International Table Tennis Federation on Sunday. The news was announced at an evening banquet marking the 50th anniversary of China-U.S. "Ping-Pong Diplomacy", which eventually led to the normalization of bilateral ties between the two countries. (Footage by CCTV+ via Getty Images)