Young athletes from China and the United States concluded five days of basketball competition and cultural exchange in Chongqing on Tuesday, as the 2026 Sino-US Youth Sports Festival sought to build enduring ties and prepare the next generation of cultural ambassadors.

The festival, themed "Crossover to the Future", brought together 46 female players and coaches from 10 high schools in the Sacramento region — including C. K. McClatchy High School and Monte Vista Christian School — along with participants from six high schools in Chongqing.

The teams competed in spirited basketball matches and took part in a series of cultural activities, highlighting the growing role of sports in fostering cross-border understanding.

"During the first couple of games, we were kind of surprised by how intense they were," said Pavielle Kaur Aulakh, a senior at Folsom High School and a player on the California Gold team, noting the strong competitiveness of their Chinese counterparts. "But we started to adapt to the Chinese style of basketball."

She added that communication extended beyond language. "Even though there's a language barrier, both the American side and Chinese side really try to communicate, because we want to know more about each other."

Now in its second year, the festival was launched in 2025 by the Chongqing People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Sacramento China office.

Beyond basketball, the visiting delegation took part in workshops on Chinese tea culture, printmaking and opera mask painting. They also visited local landmarks, including the Chongqing Stilwell Museum and the Wulong karst landscape, known for its dramatic sinkholes and natural bridges.

In 2023, China announced plans to invite 50,000 young US citizens to participate in exchange and study programs over a five-year period, with initiatives such as this festival seen as part of a broader effort to strengthen long-term people-to-people ties.

"What we are doing here goes far beyond basketball," said Antonio Yung, envoy of the Sacramento China office, at the opening ceremony."People from different countries, cultures and languages can come together, compete under a common set of rules, treat one another with respect, and be both competitors and friends."

"This festival provides an important platform for young people from China and the US to improve their skills and learn from each other," said Zhou Yi, executive director of the Chongqing People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. "They can become a new generation of envoys carrying forward the friendship between the two countries."

The event also saw the signing of cooperation agreements between schools in China and the US, reinforcing the goal of long-term educational and cultural exchange.

Contact the writers at dengrui@chinadaily.com.cn