Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a reply letter to a table tennis player from Papua New Guinea (PNG) on September 19, encouraging young people from China and PNG to contribute to a deepening friendship between the two countries. 

Geoffrey Loi, a PNG table tennis player, wrote a letter to Xi recently, thanking the Chinese president for his support for the development of table tennis in PNG. Loi also expressed his love for the Chinese culture and hope for further improvement in bilateral ties.

In his reply letter, Xi, who visited the PNG in November 2018, recalled watching a training session of Loi and his teammates at the Butuka Academy, a PNG and China friendship school in Port Moresby.  

The PNG players were trained by Chinese coaches Shi Zhihao and Zhang Yining. Shi is a former head coach of the Chinese women's table tennis team and Zhang is a former Olympic champion. 

Xi congratulated Loi and the PNG table tennis team for their achievements at the Pacific Games in July. The team won two silver medals at the Games, their best performance ever.