Sports diplomacy became a special focus for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS) in 2025 through an $80,000 public service grant to organize an exchange of hockey coaches.
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the exchange featured ten Chinese hockey coaches visiting Wisconsin in March, followed by ten American hockey coaches (mostly from Wisconsin) traveling to northeastern China in June.
“The world would be more peaceful if we had more such programs,” said Wu Lanfeng, president of the Jiamusi Hockey Association in China and a member of the delegation of coaches that visited Wisconsin.