China donated 200 table tennis, 800 bats and over 20,000 balls to South Africa on Monday to assist the country in developing the sport.
The donation was presented by Wu Peng, China's ambassador to South Africa and received by Gayton McKenzie, South African minister of sport, arts and culture in Pretoria. Wu said the donation will help to "promote and develop" South Africa's table tennis. He explained that South Africa has some strength in rugby while China is good at table tennis and said the two countries should work together to help each other.
"We can learn a lot from you. We should organize so that South Africans could come and help train rugby in China. We should also organize exchanges in culture and sports to foster deeper understanding and friendship," said Wu.
He said he expects to see South Africa winning awards in table tennis in international competitions in the future.
McKenzie thanked China for the "generous donation" and said it will help the government to achieve the programs it has to revive and improve sports in schools. The donation enhances the strong relations that exist between China and South Africa, said McKenzie.
McKenzie explained that the government of national unity is committed to improving relations with China with one of the first trips to that country. He said table tennis coaches will come from China to teach some South Africans. McKenzie promised to send some rugby trainers to China next year to assist in the development of that sport.
Joe Carrim, president of the South African Table Tennis Board (SATTB), said the donation would be distributed all over the country including the rural schools and townships in all nine provinces. He said the donation will "go beyond the table" as it strengthens the relations between China and South Africa. The donation of sports equipment's impact will be seen with South Africa winning awards at international competitions, said Carrim.
The equipment was donated by the General Administration of Sport of China, and the Chinese Table Tennis Association.
