XI'AN, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The inaugural Chinese employees' table tennis league finals opened here on Friday. Over 280 players across 17 teams will represent 400 million employees all over China, and will compete for seven titles over the next two days.

"Table tennis is one of the most popular sports in China, and many Chinese companies hold their own competitions," said Liu Fengyan, president of the table tennis committee of the Chinese Enterprise Sports Association. "This new event brings players from different industries together, allowing them to communicate with each other and improve their level."

The league began in May with the first of the tournament's preliminary matches. Zhou Guoqiang, executive vice president of the labor union at China Aviation Industry Corporation, said the event would lift employees' spirits.

"My players told me that they were very excited to play in this special environment, and that more people would compete in 2019," Zhou said. "As the host of the 2018 league finals, we will seek to improve our service level and attract more teams to take part in the competition."

Table tennis has long been popular in China. Liu noted that the Chinese Table Tennis Association is formulating a table tennis level rating management system. "All the players, including amateurs and elites, will be able to take examinations or enter suitable competitions in future," Liu said.

"We will set up a total of nine grades. For example, the winners of the Chinese employees' table tennis league will immediately be graded at level three or four."