Ping Pong

The U.S. Table Tennis team was in Nagoya, Japan in 1971 for the 31st World Table Tennis Championships on April 6 when they received an invitation to visit China. From the early years of the People's Republic, sports had played an important role in diplomacy, often incorporating the slogan "Friendship First, Competition Second". During the isolationist years, athletes were among the few PRC nationals who were allowed to travel overseas. On April 10, 1971, the team and accompanying journalists became the first American delegation to set foot in the Chinese capital since 1949.[1] The meeting was facilitated by the National Committee on United States – China Relations. Prior to the visit by the American table tennis players, eleven Americans were admitted into the PRC for one week because they all professed affiliation with the Black Panther Party which followed aMaoist political line. This was unusual, given that high-profile American citizens such as Senator Eugene McCarthy expressed interest in visiting China after the 1968 presidential election, but even he could not have a trip arranged for him despite his office.
Ping-pong diplomacy refers to the exchange of table tennis (ping-pong) players between the United States and People's Republic of China (PRC) in the early 1970s. The event marked a thaw in U.S.–China relations that paved the way to a visit to Beijing by President Richard Nixon.
How does the topic relate to the key ideas of the area study?
- China never wanted to accept anything from the western society until the US table tennis team was in Nagoya, Japan and they received an invitation to visit China.
- The team and accompanying journalists became the first American delegation to set foot in the Chinese capital since 1949.
- Relates to the key ideas of the topic because China has been known to never let people in and never takes anything from the western world, and they have now accepted table tennis.
What are the key features of my topic?
Why Richard came to China
- On February 21, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon arrived in China for an official trip. He was the first U.S. president to visit the People's Republic of China since it was established in 1949. This was an important event because the U.S. was seeking to improve relations with a Communist country during the Cold War.
What happened when they came to china?
- On his visit to China, Nixon met with Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai. The two leaders agreed to expand cultural contacts between their two nations. Nixon also established plans for a permanent U.S. trade mission in China.
- The U.S. had become first interested in having political and economic ties with China in the 19th century.
What was the result when they left and were there any connections after? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfMRq2Of_Qw After Nixon’s Visit:
- 2 months are Richard Nixon’s visit; Zhuang Zedong visited the U.S. as the head of a Chinese table-tennis delegation in April 1972.
- However China’s attempts to reach out to countries through the ‘ping pong diplomacy’ were not always successful, such as when the All Indonesia Table Tennis Association refused Chinas invitation in October – claiming that accepting the PRC’s offer would improve the PRC’s reputation.