Sports bridge people, break ice

Xu Lulu (first left), Laci Sligar (middle) and Michael Torres pose for a photo on March 10, 2025. (Huang Lanlan/GT)

Over the weekend, American student Laci Sligar celebrated her 25th birthday in Shanghai. This was one of the most memorable birthdays Sligar has had in recent years, as she has only been in China for a week. She received three birthday cakes from her new friends in Shanghai and enjoyed a special day with them.

"Everybody here has been so nice and welcoming," Sligar told the Global Times. "I've only been here a week, and I feel like I've known them for a lifetime."

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."

A group photo of the University of Wyoming delegation taken at Zhujiajiao ancient town in suburban Shanghai on March 9, 2025. (Photo/Courtesy of Laci Sligar)

A lot in common

Although the UW delegation has only been in China for over a week, the students have already formed initial impressions of the country and its people, particularly the youth, through a variety of engaging cultural experiences and city tours, as well as close interactions with students from SUS.

Sligar praised the safety and cleanliness of Chinese cities. "I feel safer in China than I do in the US," she said. "There's a lot of crime in the US, but when I come here, I just feel extremely safe. And it's clean everywhere I go."

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.

To date, approximately 15,000 American youth have visited China through this program, read a report by Shanghai-based Jiefang Daily on January 3. More and more young people from both countries are benefiting from the program, fostering mutual understanding and building friendships that transcend the Pacific.

"I feel like the older generation might teach the younger generation that, 'hey, this isn't a great relationship.' But I believe we young people can see what this relationship is really like and form our own opinions," Sligar said. "We can have our own perspective, and our own understanding of what our relationship can be like, rather than just learning from what we were told before."

"For me, I almost want to live in China after being here for just a week. It's been so awesome," she added.

Torres is already looking forward to his next trip to China. He said that he wants to visit the Great Wall in Beijing, return to Shanghai, and explore the hometowns of his Chinese friends across the country.

"I think to grow China-US relations, 'the future lies with the youth' is a great phrase," he told the Global Times. "This is the first step, as we've met each other and engaged in more exchanges. Hopefully, in the future, when we have children, they will build better connections between China and the US. We can start to make this phrase a reality, creating a brighter and better future."