Ping Pong Diplomacy

Ping-Pong Diplomacy
Richard Nixon’s Presidential Decision to Enact Sino-American Relations

David Kain
January 1, 2013
AP Government
Period Eight

The term ping-pong diplomacy itself is derived from the odd circumstance in which a Sino-American diplomatic relationship was formed during President Richard Nixon’s term in office. Though a ping pong tournament was not intended to bring about diplomacy between communist China and the democratic United States, it proved to be an essential spark in fueling the fire of Sino-American diplomacy. Each nation had its own differences with the communist Soviet Union and appeared to be a match made in diplomatic heaven. Within the next four decades the United States and China developed into the two largest global economies and the liaison became known as the single most important bilateral relationship of the twenty-first century.1 The historic opening of American and Chinese relations resulted in powerful overtones for the future of each country and provided ripple effects which spanned across the globe. The true significance of Nixon’s Chinese diplomacy cannot be fully appreciated without first comprehending the decades of Chinese-American hostility that preceded it. In 1949 a communist revolution took hold in China, and as the Communist People’s Republic of China obtained power the United States refused to recognize the party and instead deemed the nationalist Republic of China (Taiwan) as the sole legitimate government of China. As a response to the communist movement in China the United States removed all personnel from China in 1950. No official would permanently return until 1973.2
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The inner Chinese controversies were not the only point of difference between itself and the United States. China had direct ties with the Korean War, because of China’s involvement the United States imposed a trade embargo with the People’s Republic of China and eventually banned American travel to China completely.1 The president at the time, Lyndon Johnson, explained that there would be no hope for an easing of relationships with China as long as communist China continued to pursue conflict and preach violence.3 Despite these prior differences each nation shared a universal dislike of the Soviet Union. The Sino-Soviet relationship is vital in understanding how the Sino-American relationship came to be, and though both believed in communism, each took completely different roads to socialism.2 As the 1950s came to a close Sino-Soviet harmony began to dissipate, and as the 1960s emerged and progressed open hostility took hold.1 Tensions reached a maximum when the Soviet Union published the Brezhnev Doctrine. The doctrine permitted that Moscow possessed the right to bring any communist state to a heel by military force.1 National Security advisor to President Nixon, Henry Kissinger, perhaps but it best by stating “No communist leader was then challenging Moscow’s doctrinal preeminence more rigorously than Mao. If the Brezhnev Doctrine had any obvious application, it was to Mao’s China.”4
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As China faced its controversies with the Soviet Union, the United States had its own number of differences with the Soviets. The United States had the goal of unsettling Moscow enough to convince Soviet leaders to relax the Soviet-American strained relations.5 While the Chinese attempted to defend its borders from Soviet threats, the American aspirations proved ineffective and the possibility of a Sino-American pact seemed to be ideal.
Apart from global indifference with the Soviet Union, President Nixon saw the opportunity for a pact with the Chinese to be a distraction from the Unites States’ involvement in the Vietnam War. President Nixon and advisor Kissinger envisioned a visit to China, which would lead to a transformation of Sino-American relations while also providing a diversion from Vietnam in the United States.6 The US’ involvement in Vietnam reached new heights daily and gained rapid displeasure across the globe; the shift of foreign attention greatly appealed to President Nixon and presented potential for China to help Vietnam accept terms of peace.1
The US government saw its opportunity to pursue China when the People’s Republic of China joined the United Nations Security Council. When addressing China as a nation Nixon proclaimed that a stable peace cannot be reached across the globe without the participation of China and its seven hundred and fifty million inhabitants. In September of 1968 the US State Department sent China a

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proposition regarding ambassador-level communications, and to the amazement of the United States, China accepted1. As the 1970s approached, the Chinese and American governments began taking cautious steps towards one another. These flirtations between nations were not isolated to executive conversations; President Nixon publically explained in a TIME Magazine interview that he possessed a great desire to visit China. Mao responded in LIFE Magazine by stating that he would gladly host Nixon as either a tourist or president.7 In spring of 1971 Sino-American relationships jumped to an entirely new, unexpected, level. Rather than at a diplomatic conference or executive dinner, the setting for this unanticipated leap was the World Table Tennis Championship in Nagoya, Japan. The tournament was not meant to be a stepping stone for Sino-American diplomacy, in fact Chinese players were instructed to avoid American delegates.8 Despite these instructions diplomacy could not be avoided and, as if pulled directly from a Hollywood screenplay, fate intervened. US player Glenn Cowan found himself alone one afternoon after missing the American team bus, he eventually found a ride with the Chinese team. The team brought him to a tourism event and as a result a conversation and friendship emerged between Cowan and China’s player Zhang Zedong.
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China’s Mao, when made aware, complimented Zedong as a table tennis star and diplomat, and on April 10 invited the US table tennis team to tour China. When informed, Nixon was quoted saying “I was as surprised as I was pleased by this news. I had never expected that the China initiative would come to fruition in the form of a ping-pong team”9 The American team was treated as royalty during the remainder of the tournament and although they suffered a brutal defeat in their exhibition match against China, the score meant nothing in comparison to the catalyst they became for Sino-American diplomacy. In June of 1971 China extended an invitation to the United States, asking the US to send an envoy to China.1 The recipient of this address was Henry Kissinger, and after the message was delivered to Nixon, Kissinger was scheduled to depart for Beijing on July 9, 1971. Kissinger was sent with one overall goal in mind; establish a meeting for Mao and Nixon.2 Nixon later wrote that he and Kissinger agreed on the codeword “Eureka”, and when Kissinger was able to confirm a meeting he sent a one word message to Nixon containing only “Eureka”.9 In February 1972 Nixon and Kissinger embarked on an expedition to China. The stakes were extremely high and all of the American actions in Moscow and Vietnam hinged on this ____________________________________________________________________________
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China trip.11 The day of Nixon and Kissinger’s arrival contained a certain memory that Nixon kept with him for the rest of his life. As he later wrote in his memoirs, “The transcript of the conversation did not capture the most moving moment, when Mao reached out his hand, and I reached out mine, and he held it for about a minute.”9 The trip consisted of sightseeing, dinners, and many conversations regarding everything from current Sino-American relations to national views that had been left alone for over twenty years. The documented version of Nixon’s visit was titled the Shanghai Communiqué. The document explained each country’s goals and expressed their views and opinions of certain issues and topics. It incorporated the mutual desire further exchanges in science, technology, culture, and athletics. It also established an agreement to facilitate a development of trade between each nation. The document later shared a mutual opposition with regards to any major power dominating Asia.9 Finally, in the Shanghai Communiqué, the political status of Taiwan was discussed. The topic of Taiwan was stated as “the crucial question obstructing the normalization of relations between China and the United States.”12 The US did not argue or challenge the ______________________________________________________________________________

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Chinese stance that Taiwan was a province of China, and stated that it acknowledged China’s unified presence but did not state which governmental body it recognized.1 This semi-confusing section of the document stemmed from US hopes to continue supporting nationalist Taiwan, while also crafting new relations with the Communist People’s Republic of China.13 As the Chinese trip came to a close eight days after it had began, President Nixon delivered a quote that summarized the trip and the future perfectly, he said “In the years ahead, we will build a bridge across sixteen thousand miles and twenty-two years of hostility which have divided us in the past. We have been here a week. This was the week that changed the world.”9 Ping-Pong Diplomacy proved exponentially beneficial to the relationship between the United States and China. It opened the door to trade, culture, and advancements in technology and sciences; while also creating a window of opportunity for China to leave behind isolationism and grow into one of, if not the, most powerful country in the world. Though the goal of a Sino-American relationship was met, they goal of having China aide in ending the Vietnam War was never achieved. China refused to end support for North Vietnam, however, the Sino-American relationship did help to lower the power of the Soviet Union. ________________________________________________________________________
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Two months after Nixon’s visit to China, the president again found himself abroad. This time, in Moscow, President Nixon reached the first ever nuclear arms limitations agreement between the two powerhouse countries of the Cold War, proving that the positive effects of Ping-Pong Diplomacy went far beyond the confines of the United States and China alone.6
In a presidency remembered for its scandals and hidden secrets, the diplomacy with China was a huge highlight of Nixon’s time in office. Nixon has been remembered for his infamous Watergate Scandal, and has been viewed as a man who dealt with his matters in the shadows. However, the Ping-Pong Diplomacy with China was an open-aired process which was highly covered and followed. President Nixon was able to turn his Chinese visit into an action of interest and drew in a lot of attention across the globe. This bright spot on Nixon’s career does not clean his slate, but does in fact show that he was productive during his presidency and exemplifies the positive side of Richard Nixon.
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Opinions will always flourish as history progresses. One era may view a president as a cheat and a liar, and then the next may adapt to a respectable view of the very same president. It is true that the negative aspects of Nixon’s presidency are bound to linger over his name, but his push to open Chinese diplomacy may eventually help clear his name of some of the infamy that history has remembered him for. The global significance of Nixon’s Ping-Pong Diplomacy could be appreciated more in the future which could possibly reverse the Nixon stereotype.
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In the modern world the most obvious and beneficial effect of Nixon’s Ping-Pong Diplomacy may be the formation of China’s massive economy. In today’s world nearly everything can be assumed to have come from China. Nearly a decade after Nixon’s visit, China began to show signs of a capitalist economic system, and its economy began growing at an average annual rate of ten percent. China has grown into the largest foreign exporter in the world and the possibility for this was made available via Ping-Pong Diplomacy.
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President Nixon’s decision to initiate Ping-Pong Diplomacy was intriguing when being unraveled. It distracted the United States from the Vietnam War for awhile and led to a new age of kinship between the United States and China. The Sino-American diplomacy offered potential peace for the Vietnam War while also offering and bringing about a level of limitations regarding the Soviet Union and its threats.
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Four decades later Nixon’s presidential decision still has lingering effects. The United States is now the receiver of twenty percent of all Chinese exports, while China is currently the largest owner of US treasuries.3 With technology advancing more and more every day no one can predict where the United States and China will be years down the road, but it can be assumed that each will remain at the top of global powers and this became possible because of Ping-Pong Diplomacy in the early 1970s.
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------------------------------------------------- Richard Nixon’s Chinese policy had coined the phrase Ping-Pong Diplomacy because of two reasons. The first, and most obvious, is derived from the ping pong tournament that enabled an opportunity for Sino-American relations. Secondly, from a figurative perspective, the term comes from the delicate skill in which the process required, much like the skill needed in table tennis. During the Nixon era Ping-Pong Diplomacy ended Chinese-American isolation, lessened the hold which the Soviet Union possessed, and distracted the nation from the Vietnam War. All in all, Nixon’s diplomacy effort was effective and its roots have developed into effects that still remain today.
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