Intro:

Former NBA player Yao Ming spoke at the Brookings Institution on Friday to highlight the more than three decades of US-China diplomacy and cultural exchanges.

Yao began playing for the Houston Rockets in 2002. At the time he was the tallest active player in the NBA. Born in Shanghai, the NBA star also offered both countries insight into each other.

Yao, who is now retired, dedicates his time to philanthropic efforts.

This year marks the 35th anniversary of official diplomatic relations between the U.S. and China.

Script:

SOUNDBITE Yao Ming, Former NBA player (English): (in response to question, "when you think back on it now (his time as a professional NBA player) how do you think the two countries have moved along in understanding one another?")

"I think this created opportunity for us. People like to watch sports game in China, in both countries. And this provided a channel for us, through the sports. We extended our sense into, into the life in America."

SOUNDBITE Yao Ming, Former NBA player (English):

"Every year, there's dozens of journalists, sports journalists, come to Houston to follow the Rockets game and often I would talk to them and they all talk about besides basketball game, they also writing something like, American life and how American teenage thinking and how people treat the game, how they think about those game and all those are... part of American culture and those package, they're all delivered back to China through their pen."

SOUNDBITE David Stern, Former Commissioner, National Basketball Association (English):

"Americans are going to learn more about China than they knew in other ways through Yao Ming and he took to that responsibility and in an interesting way through television, our Chinese fans were going to learn more about America through Yao Ming."