Ping Pong Diplomacy

Pingpong Diplomacy Lives on 35 Years Later

In April, 1971, at the height of the Cold War, a bitterly anti-American communist China invited a lowly American table tennis team to visit Beijing.

Dubbed “pingpong diplomacy” by an astonished world, the trip 35 years ago this weekend is a useful reminder of the role sports has played in helping foreigners to put a human face on China. As Beijing prepares to host the 2008 Olympics, it hopes the games will create a positive image in the minds of a world sometimes wary of China’s rising power.

(The Sam Lee Ping Pong picture is completely irrelevant.)