Sports bridge people, break ice

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By Huang Lanlan (Global Times) 10:35, March 12, 2025

A second-year graduate student, Sligar is part of a delegation from the University of Wyoming (UW) visiting the Shanghai University of Sport (SUS) for an exchange program. Supported by educational authorities from both the US and China, this delegation, which consists of two faculty members and seven UW students, is an embodiment of the "50,000 in five years" initiativethat plans to invite 50,000 young Americans to China on exchange and study programs in five years, the Global Times learned from the SUS.

Mutual learning in sports

Including Sligar, all seven students in the UW delegation are graduate students majoring in physical education. During their four-week stay at SUS that started on March 3, they are engaging in both theoretical and practical teaching of physical education, focusing on the "sport education model," according to the SUS.

In class, they collaborate closely with their Chinese peers to explore various teaching methods for different sports. This presents a valuable opportunity for mutual learning for both sides.

Xu Lulu, a second-year student at SUS and a member of the university's hockey team, told the Global Times that this sport is relatively niche in China and that there is much to learn from the US, ranging from the sport itself to its related teaching methodologies.

Sligar also mentioned that since her arrival, she has made great progress in badminton. "Everything I've learned about badminton here, I can take back to the US and implement in our own teaching."

Sports serve as a great bridge for people-to-people exchanges and are an evergreen icebreaker topic for young people. Sligar expressed her admiration for Chinese athlete Yao Ming, saying, "I really enjoyed watching him play for the Houston Rockets while growing up. My siblings also loved watching him play games."

Michael Torres, another student in the UW delegation, expressed his excitement about the electric cars he saw on the streets of Shanghai, which are not common in the US. He recalled that when he was younger, some US media outlets often published negative stories about China. "But being here makes me feel that they are not true."

Unlike their predecessors, Torres and Sligar believe that the younger US generation does not hold many stereotypes about China. Moreover, their days in Shanghai have enabled them to find that young people from both countries actually have a lot in common, from shared interests in sports to everyday topics. They find Chinese youth to be welcoming, friendly, and helpful.

"I probably have 50 WeChat contacts right now," said Sligar. "It's been nice to talk to them [SUS students], as we mutually want to get to know each other. I feel like I've gotten to know some of them on a personal level. That's been pretty cool."

Welcoming, friendly, and helpful

In November 2023 in San Francisco, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that China was ready to invite 50,000 young Americans to China on exchange and study programs in the next five years, to increase exchanges between the two peoples, especially between the youth.