French President Emmanuel MACRON visited the ITTF Mixed Team World Cup in Chengdu, where he met both Team France and Team China during his state visit to China.
He was welcomed by ITTF President Petra SÖRLING and CTTA President Liqin, who introduced him to leading Chinese stars Wang Chuqin, Sun Yingsha, Wang Manyu WANG, and Shidong LIN, as well as coaches Lin MA, Hao WANG and Zhan XIAO. MACRON also greeted the French squad, including Felix and Alexis LEBRUN, Prithika PAVADE, Simon GAUZY and Jia Nan YUAN.
President MACRON even stepped to the table himself, receiving a racket from ITTF President Petra SÖRLING and enjoying brief friendly rallies with players. Delegations exchanged commemorative gifts, including a special ITTF Centenary racket and national team jerseys.
The ITTF expressed its honour at being part of the French President’s official visit, noting table tennis’s long tradition of fostering friendship and international cooperation from historic ping-pong diplomacy to its modern global reach.
The ITTF Mixed Team World Cup 2025 runs in Chengdu from 30 November to 7 December, ahead of the discipline’s Olympic debut at LA28.
