When Chinese officials are planning state dinners, there's one ceramic designer they always call. The artist is known for his flawless tableware that never fails to impresses international leaders. And as CGTN's Nina Edwards reports, he just may have started a trend in 'ceramic diplomacy'.

Dainty, elegant and feminine. Those words inspired this tableware by Chinese ceramic designer Chunmao Huang. The delicate pieces were commissioned by China's first lady and used during the first ladies' banquet at the G20 Summit, held in Hangzhou in 2016. Huang says he draws his design inspiration from various places, including a city's geography, history and its culture.

CHUNMAO HUANG CERAMIC DESIGNER "It's very important for me to put carefully put in Chinese culture in the design and I can hope to reach the inside of Chinese people's feeling. But, for Hangzhou, this time, it was color. Color is related to the city, that kind of feeling. There is a lot of water in the south of China and green, very soft very smooth. It's kinda like silk you touch, blue silk."

This is the first time Huang's work has been shown outside of China. It's come to the United States because this is where Huang studied and perfected his ceramic-making craft, receiving his Master of Fine Arts degree from Alfred University in 2003. Huang was part of a cultural exchange program between the U.S. and China.

WAYNE HIGBY, DIRECTOR ALFRED CERAMIC ART MUSEUM "This particular body of work of Chunmao's, has become um, such a marker of a particular moment in history and time. And his ability to bring that insight which I think, again, back to the exchange, comes from the fact that he's gonna see the world in a more of a kaleidoscopic way, and he's very, very um, committed to his culture and very knowledgeable of his culture."

CHUNMAO HUANG CERAMIC DESIGNER "I used to don't look at the traditional Chinese ceramic, I always loved to do the contemporary modern art, and then when I come here, I really started to look at back at the Chinese traditional culture, I think it's so interesting to me."

CHUNMAO HUANG CERAMIC DESIGNER "This is like my second home where I had my second life in art."

Fifteen years ago, a younger Chunmao Huang, had no idea he would become China's number one tableware designer. Today, he hopes sharing his path can inspire those who follow behind him.

WAYNE HIGBY, DIRECTOR ALFRED CERAMIC ART MUSEUM "For me, it's, it's um, such a gift to be in this moment where as the director of the museum I can sort of say, 'Here Chunmao, let's show everyone here who you are and how magnificent this is', and it's so important to the students who are studying here to see that someone has come, has done the work and is able to go on and embrace the world and be successful so they're sitting in there listening to him or watching him and they go back to their studios and they say, 'Well I guess it's not impossible.'"

CHUNMAO HUANG CERAMIC DESIGNER "Let me show you some of the tableware I designed for the president. In Chinese, we call these changzhiwen, which, you see all the flower. It never stops, it just continues, it never stops. In Chinese culture, we think something over again. Its life, history and everything can always continue, keep going, keep going. Never stop."

By displaying his intricate work, Huang hopes the beauty of Chinese culture will shine through, exposing the world to the wonders of China. Nina Edwards, CGTN, Alfred, New York.