CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard Women's Basketball student-athletes Harmoni Turner and Gabby Anderson and Harvard Men's Basketball student-athletes Chandler Piggé and Thomas Batties II are set to take part in the 2024 USA-China College Basketball Team Exchange Activity from August 5-12 at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.
 
The itinerary for the U.S. contingent on the exchange includes cultural exploration and sightseeing, a campus tour, and educational business opportunities alongside practice and competition on the basketball side.
 
Participants in the exchange on the U.S. side include 15 players from U.S. universities including Harvard, MIT, Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College, and others. Tsinghua University is set to include over 40 players from its men's and women's basketball teams as part of the exchange.
 
The core aims of the exchange – with a theme built around The Unity Cup – is to deepen cultural exchanges between China and the U.S., further enhance basketball competitive levels, and cultivate sportsmanship and international perspectives among the younger generation. Through this platform, the organizations hope to build a future-oriented network of young partners, promote communication, build friendship within the youth communities of China and the U.S., and lay a solid foundation for future cooperation.
 
The exchange is not only intended to promote cooperation in the field of sports but also to build a bridge of communication, understanding, friendship, and cooperation. Through more exchange programs, the organizations look to build a healthy and sustainable development between the two countries.
 
Alongside Tsinghua University, co-organizers include Huang Yi-cong Foundation, CARHAR Philanthropies Inc. (USA), Tsinghua University Department of Sports, and Tsinghua University Education Foundation with support from Anta Sports Products Group and Sinarmas Group.
 
The opportunity for the exchange stems from a November 2023 meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden in San Francisco in which both parties reaffirmed the importance of cultural exchanges between China and the U.S., agreeing to expand exchanges in education, study abroad, youth, culture, sports, and business sectors. President Xi proposed that China would invite 50,000 American youths to China for exchanges and academics over the next five years. To implement President Xi's initiative, Huang Yi-cong Foundation introduced this program to Tsinghua University, and through that, Tsinghua University organized the 2024 USA-China College Basketball Team Exchange Activity.