It refers to the events that led to the thawing of diplomatic relations between USA and China in the 1970s. Read on to know more…
After the Second World War, two superpowers emerged – USA and USSR. The world was divided into two blocs – the Western bloc led by USA and the Eastern blocked by USSR. Communist China had initially allied itself with USSR, but relations between the two neighbours waned in the 1960s. The Chinese leader, Mao Zedong, then decided to use the game of table tennis (ping pong) to make friendly overtures to USA.
The opportunity presented itself during the 1971 World Table Tennis Championship in Japan. American player Glenn Cowan had his team bus one afternoon and was given a ride abroad the Chinese team bus. The incident got wide publicity. Taking advantage of the situation, the Chinese government offered a surprise invitation to the American team to visit China after the championship. So on April 10, 1971, the American table tennis team became the first US delegation to visit China since 1949 when Communists had taken over the country.
The US President at the time, Richard Nixon, decided to act and arranged for a Presidential visit to China in February 1972. Two months later, a Chinese table tens team toured USA.
Ping pong diplomacy became a strategic move by both countries to establish friendly relations with each other and provide a counterpoint to USSR in world politics.
Picture Credit : Google