BEIJING: As US Vice-President Joe Biden built trust with China in Beijing's corridors of power, goodwill between the nations unravelled on a nearby basketball court, where players beat each other up and chairs and water bottles were thrown in a wild, all-in brawl.

A "friendship" game between Washington's Georgetown Hoyas and Chinese professional side the Bayi Military Rockets erupted into a fight as the match wound down at Beijing's Olympic Stadium.

It was believed to have started when Bayi forward Hu Ke committed a hard foul on Georgetown's Jason Clark, who retaliated with a shove, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.

Players then traded blows, someone in the crowd flung a chair and fans tossed full water bottles at the Hoyas players and coaches as they headed to the locker room, with the game abandoned.