Taicang, in East China's Jiangsu province, hosted the first international table tennis tournament named the "China-German Friendship Cup" on Nov 12.

Chinese and German players compete in Taicang Stadium on Nov 12. [Photo/Suzhou Daily]

Hailed as a "Hometown of German Companies in China", Taicang is a key German company cluster in the country. Some 250 German companies have settled in Taicang and the city has been a magnet for German expats.

Table tennis is a sport favored both in China and Germany. In 2015, the famous German's pingpong player, Timo Boll, was invited to Taicang to compete in matches with some 20 pingpong enthusiasts now working in Taicang.

A player from the German Hessen youth team. [Photo/Suzhou Daily]

This year's tournament attracted 16 teams from Taicang German Center, German companies and Chinese companies in surrounding cities, like Shanghai. Hu Bin and Zhao Chang, two former players on the Chinese National Table Tennis Team, also attended the tourney.

The logo of Taicang’s friendly pingpong tourney. [Photo/wechat: tcfbgw]

The "China-German Friendship Cup" is to be held annually as a mass sports activity. It is expected to boost Sino-German sports exchange, and to strengthen industry investment and commerce between the two countries.