Wes Unseld Jr. answers CRI reporters' questions during an exclusive interview after the press conference about the Washington Wizards' trip to China in Beijing on September 8th, 2009. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Yang Yang]

The Washington Wizards, the first NBA team to visit China in 1979, are currently in Beijing on a 10-day trip around the country to commemorate 30 years of China-US relations. The event is also considered to be something of a warm-up for US president Barack Obama's upcoming visit.

Then called the 'Washington Bullets', the team visited China at the invitation of the then Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. This came about in response to Deng's visit to the United States and the normalization of Sino-U.S. relations thirty years ago.

This current visiting delegation includes veteran players Wes Unseld and Gheorghe Muresan, the tallest basketball player in NBA history, as well as current Washington Wizards players Caron Butler and Randy Foy.

Peter Biche, the delegation leader and CEO of the Washington Wizards, says the goal of this trip is to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the last trip and to continue the friendship between the Chinese and American people.

"Our visit thirty years ago was the beginning of the relationship between our two countries. I think this visit today is a continuation of that. And we will be back again and it will not be thirty years before the Washington Wizards return to China."

Wes Unseld, a legendary player who was inducted into the Hall of Fame and later became the coach and general manager of the team, recalled his experiences in China three decades ago.

He said that when they first arrived in China, people were staring at them, these big gigantic-looking people, walking around streets and they wanted to know whether they were being invaded.

Unseld explained that at that time the NBA was not as famous and popular as it is today. Even people in the United States didn't know very much about it, not to mention people in China, where the country had just opened its doors to the outside world.

But today when Unseld returns thirty years later, everything is totally different and he can't even recognize Beijing as a result of its fast development. Chinese people are more open and friendly. They know more about the U.S. and the NBA and many of them have their own favourite NBA stars, as a result of more frequent visits of NBA teams over the past few years.

Unseld thinks this encouraging change reflects the important role that sport can play in helping people from different cultures to better communicate and understand each other.

"It (sport) gives them a chance to meet to talk to you and gives you an opportunity to meet and talk to them then it will play a role. As long as we are talking and meeting each other only good things can happen."

Thirty-four year old Wes Unseld Jr., son of Wes Unseld and assistant coach of the Washington Wizards, also came to China this time. Visiting China as the same age as his dad is not only a coincidence but also a significant event in his life. Wes Unseld Jr. hopes his child can continue this circle of friendship between China and the United Sates.

Wes Unseld Jr. has also met a lot of young Chinese basketball players with Ed Tapscott, the chief coach of the Washington Wizards. They are looking forward to seeing more and more Chinese international basketball players in NBA teams.

Chinese basketball players such as Wang Zhizhi, Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian have helped the United States market their sport to China. Statistics say the number of Chinese audience members who watch NBA games on TV has grown to 450 million, since the country's state television began showing them in the late 1980s.

And as basketball is becoming increasingly popular in China, it's also seen as an opportunity for commercial ties. The delegation will also visit the marketing department of Baidu, the first Chinese company to be included in the NASDAQ-100 index, to seek more business opportunities as well.

Xie Yuan, an official with the host and organizer of the trip, the 'Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries', says they have organized various kinds of activities for the delegation to gain an overall understanding of current China.

"The delegation will attend various kinds of sports exchanges, and public welfare activities. While introducing advanced management theories and demonstrating outstanding basketball skills, they are also bringing American people's friendship to the Chinese people."

Since arriving on September 5th, the delegation has visited Shanghai and Beijing. They will leave Beijing this Friday for Chengdu and Guangzhou. The tour will conclude next week.