Ping-pong diplomacy broke the ice in the Sino-US relationship
during the early 1970s - and now another sport, soccer, could help
further warm the thawing ties between China and Japan.
Lawmakers from the two countries are set to play a friendly
soccer game on Saturday in the coastal city of Dalian, Liaoning Province.
The "soccer diplomacy" is aimed at deepening friendship and it
will be the first time that deputies to China's National People's
Congress (NPC) will engage in a sports exchange with
another country, the legislative body said.
The NPC team, formed a month ago, consists of 35 members with an
average age of 45. Most are NPC deputies from all walks of life,
including government officials, scientists, entrepreneurs, teachers
and doctors.
Participating from Japan are 23 lawmakers from the ruling
Liberal Democratic Party, its coalition partner the New Komeito
Party, the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, the Japanese
Communist Party and the People's New Party.
Japanese organizers said they are also pushing an initiative to
hold a soccer match among Japanese, Chinese and South Korean
lawmakers.
NPC deputies said the game will be more about friendship than
competition.
"We're honored to be part of the game and be able to contribute
to the development of Sino-Japanese relations," said team member
and coach Fan Yunjie, former member of the women's national
football team and now an NPC deputy.
Fan is the only one to have played professionally, but said her
teammates had made big strides after three training sessions since
May.
To prepare for the game, the Chinese team had a 2-hour warm-up
session on Friday at the Dalian People's Stadium - the match
venue.
Dressed in Nike sports suits and soccer shoes, the team had
physical training, practiced corner and free kicks, and had a
20-minute mock match.
Although in their 40s or 50s, many appeared swift and
strong.
"I've been running at least 2 km a day since May to improve my
body strength," said Wang Ning, a professor at Ocean University of
China.
Wang, in his 40s, said he is a soccer lover and played in a
local team when he was young.
In consideration of the physical demands of the game, organizers
have decided that the match be divided into three 20-minute
sessions.
Experts said the game is a good way to improve Sino-Japanese
relations.
"The game is particularly important with Japan having just
elected a new prime minister," Liu Jiangyong, a senior researcher
on Japan at Tsinghua University's Institute of International
Studies, said.
He said China-Japan ties had, indeed, entered a new phase after
former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe's "ice-breaking" visit to
China last October and Premier Wen Jiabao's "ice-thawing" visit to Japan this
April.
But the recent change in Japan's leadership has generated some
uncertainty over the development of bilateral ties. "However, this
match, to some extent, shows that the relationship continues to
move along the right track," Liu said.
(China Daily October 13, 2007)
